FEAR Operation York
by DavrosVonJammell
Summary: Sent to capture Dr York, one of Aristide's top scientists, Delta Force's Sgt Beth Cullen is desperate to make it out alive and discover where Dark Signal is. But with ATC security, Replica soldiers, and Alma around, it will prove to be difficult...
1. Interval 01

The world around her was dark. She stood alone in the almost-dead meadow. The grass under her feet, which were for some reason bare, was a dull grey colour, and a non-existent wind blew them to angle towards her left. Looking into the sky, she noticed that it was just a dark red collage above her. No clouds, no sun, no moon; just the blood-red sky. The meadow was practically empty, except for a large oak tree, which had during its years twisted into such a bizzare shape it no longer looked like a tree. More like a-

_An angry creature,_ she thought, and shuddered.

At first, she did not move; too afraid to move from her spot. Despite the emptiness of this dead place, there was a feeling of being watched, as though some invisible being sat from afar, dark, sadistic eyes watching her, waiting for her to make a mistake. She felt a shiver go up her arms and back, and realised she no longer wore her Delta Force uniform. Instead, she found herself wearing a sleeveless white dress, and suddenly she was reminded of being at the beach with her fiance Trent. They had enjoyed their last beach trip; Trent had worn his swimming shorts and lotion on his large, tanned, muscular shoulders, and she stood in contrast, her smooth, pale figure making her look like a beautiful ghost. They had laid there on the beach together, eating their ice-creams and looking upon each other with passionate love, smiling like love-struck fools.

But this wasn't the beach. She was not with Trent. And there was no smiling in this place.

She considered calling out, but decided against it. The air was putrid in this place, and she doubted anyone would hear her even if sound existed here. Sighing, she decided she knew what was to happen: she had to approach the decrepit tree before her. She shuffled slowly towards it, her long brown hair no longer tied up and blowing wildly in a wind that did not exist.

As she got closer to the tree, the oak being seemed to twist further in her direction, as though it watched with a mild interest. Her mind urged her to run away from it, to leave the putrid creature be and find a way out of this place, but her feet never listened. They just carried on shuffling onwards.

"_Come..._" a feminine whisper echoed into her ear. She turned to er right from where the whisper came from, but nothing was there. The words had been so close, she'd almost felt breath hit the side of her face.

She turned towards the tree again, and gasped at what she saw.

Before her, leaning against the tree, was a bloody skeleton. On it, melted flesh clung on the skull and the arms. The grass around and under it was covered in a red, lumpy liquid, and in its bony left hand was a handgun. A dogtag was wrapped around its neck. Fear feasted upon her nerves as she moved towards the skeleton, knowing deep down what the tag would read.

She reached the skeleton, and with deep reluctance bent down to read the dogtag. She let out another gasp as she read what she had feared, but could not let out the scream begging to be unleashed.

The dogtag read: _Sgt Trent Bransen._

She fell back from the skeleton, the urge to scream and vomit urging to escape but being held back by an unknown force inside her. That was when she felt the cold, dead hand clamp on her shoulder. She turned to face the owner of the hand, but didn't need to, for its owner leapt into her face, screaming vehemently at her. She did not glimpse the creature for long, but what she did make out was that the being was a nude, young woman. Black hair covered the woman's face and breasts untidily, and the creature's touch was slimy and wet. Whatever it was, it had spent its time under water.

She let out a scream.

___________________________________________________________________________

A hand, dry and warm, gripped her shoulder, and as she opened her eyes, she sighed upon seeing the battle-worn face of the shaved-headed man standing over her seat, and was grateful to find herself dressed in military fatigues and body armor, and her hair still tied up.

"Dreaming, I take it, Sergeant?" the man in front of her asked, concerned.

Beth blushed, and nodded silently.

The man nodded. "Okay. Well, it's over now, so you don't need to worry about anything. You're on the Troop Carrier, now."

As the man moved away, she got sight of three other people staring at her in a mix of shock and awe. All three wore the same uniform she did. The one on the furthest left was a young man, with long, light brown hair down to his shoulders and blemished, pale skin. He was a rather thin man, with very little muscle on him. Around his neck he wore a small gold crucifix. He looked more amused at Beth, and for that she hated him.

"What's wrong?" he asked cockily. "Dream of spiders?"

"Shut up, Adam," the man on the furthest right answered in a deep voice. He was a large, Asian man, with a black crew-cut and a scar running down his right cheek. His large, muscular arms were bared on display.

Adam shrugged. "Just asking the girl, Azure. No need to snap at me for it."

"I'll snap _you_ in a minute," Azure growled back."And it's Corporal to you."

Adam shrugged again, not phased by the threat or of having rank pulled on him, and turned to the third person, who sat in the middle of the two men quietly. She was a small woman, barely over the age of eighteen, and had her hair cut in a bob-fashion and dyed a bright pink. To Beth, she looked more like a children's TV character than a qualified soldier.

"What about you, Haze?" he asked smarmily. "What do you think she dreamt of?"

Haze didn't answer, but looked at Beth in a shy way, and looked down at her own feet. Obviously, she was uncomfortable to be brought into the conversation this way.

"Knock it off!" the worn-faced man barked at Adam, silencing the smart-mouthed soldier temporarily. "We got a mission, damn it!"

"We're all ears, Captain Jarreds," Azure replied emotionlessly.

"Thank you, Corporal," the Captain replied, and hit a switch in front of him.

In front of them all, a small screen appeared, and all eyes fixed upon it. The screen remained dark, but then glowed, showing an image of a large, business tower building.

"This is one of Armacham's many business HQ's," the Captain started. "We lost contact with them two days ago. Nobody has reported in or out of the building until three hours ago we received a distress signal from an employee who remained anonymous, apparently for his safety. We couldn't make out exactly what he was saying, but judging by the rapid way his speech was and the background sounds, we're assuming it's going to be dangerous. So expect trouble. But our main target is this man." The screen before them changed the image from a building to a thin-faced man wearing green scrubs and a surgical mask over his mouth and nose. "His name is Dr Cedric York, and he is the only man who knows whre we can find Aristide and Dark Signal. Apparently, he survived the attack of Colonel Vanek's men and fled to this building. If we find him, we can gain some information upon capturing Aristide once and for all. We might be able to find out what happened to the remaining members of Dark Signal."

"Wasn't Dark Signal claimed KIA?" Azure asked.

Captain nodded. "It was, yes, but we only had confirmation upon the deaths of Redd Jankowski, Cedric Griffin and James Fox. As far as we're still concerned, there's still a chance that Dark Signal members Michael Beckett, Keira Stokes, Manny Morales and Harold Keegan are still alive."

Adam snorted. "I doubt it, sir. From what I've heard, they were deep in Replica territory. Nobody could survive that!"

The Captain looked at Adam. "Did I ask you to speak?"

Adam opened his mouth, but closed it again.

"Glad we're on the same page," Captain stated, and hit the button once again, sending the screen back to where it came from. "We are meeting two other members of Delta at the building. Should you sight Sergeants Bransen and Stewart, I advise you hold your fire." Beth's eyes and interest lit up upon hearing of Trent. "They have some vital information that could help us out. Of course, getting to them might not be so easy, as they scouted ahead over an hour ago. So this is how it is going to go." Captain Jarreds cleared his throat, and continued. "Due to the main entrance being barricaded, we're going to have to enter via alternative means. Azure, you and I are taking the fire exit route. That'll lead us through the offices and straight to the main entrance lobby and the elevators."

Azure nodded silently as Jarreds turned to Haze.

"This is your first mission, Haze, so you're taking what's been mapped as the safest route. You'll be entering via the grating system. That'll lead you inside the basement. Then you'll follow the stairs up to the main lobby. But remember that the safest route doesn't mean no dangers. It just means less of them."

Haze nodded nervously, and fidgeted with her hands.

"Beth," Jarreds sighed. "I want you and Adam to take the cleaner's entrance. Check if anything is alive down there, and meet us in the main lobby."

"Wait," Adam interjected, partially confused. "Why am I stuck with her?"

"Because I don't like smart mouths!" Jarreds snapped hostily at Adam, moving towards him in a threatening gesture. Adam flinched in response, to Beth's delight.

The carrier stopped suddenly, and Jarreds almost fell forward, but clung to the side in time.

"What the Hell, Spencer?" he yelled up to the driver.

Robert Spencer, a short, stout man with freckles and a chubby face, looked over and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, sir. It's just that we've arrived at your drop-off zone. Didn't mean to startle you."

Jarreds shook his head, and pointed at Spencer. "Okay. After myself and Azure, drop off Beth and Adam, then Haze. Then wait somewhere until we call for a rendez-vous outside the main entrance."

Robert nodded. "Affirmative, Captain."

"Good man," he responded, and opened the rear door out of the carrier. Azure stood up slowly, grabbed his G2A2 Assault Rifle, and marched out of the vehicle. Behind him, Jarreds followed, carrying a Vollmer VK-12 Combat Shotgun. As he got out, he turned to those still inside. "Don't screw up, people!" he answered, and closed the door, acting as a signal for Robert to drive to the next destination.

Beth looked at Haze, and was disheartened to see the young soldier fidgeting her hands nervously.

"Are you okay, Haze?"

Haze nodded, smiling grimly. "Sure," she answered meekly. "I'll be fine."

"It'll be okay," Robert added from his position, not turning back. "All of us are nervous on our first mission. The key is to follow your orders, keep your head down, and don't lose your cool, no matter what."

"Besides," Beth smiled reassuringly. "We got your back if you need us. You're not alone, and personally, I doubt you'll have problems with your path. They'll be too busy guarding our area to think of the basement."

"Thanks," Adam added sulkily. "Just what I need to hear. That I'm considered the target."

"And that is just by your allies," Robert replied chirpily, making Haze and Beth laugh. The vehicle jolted to a stop, and Beth stopped laughing and patted Haze on the knee.

"You'll be fine, kiddo. I promise." At that, she grabbed her AT-14 pistol and two N6A3 frag grenades and leapt out of the carrier. Adam followed reluctantly, carrying the RPL Submachinegun.

"Okay," Beth muttered to Adam as the carrier drove off. "Let's roll!"


	2. Interval 02

The two approached the large, white tower in front of them, and observed their surroundings. They were in a small garden, obviously designed by the company for the employees to take a break outside. With red-brick paths leading mulitple ways, a few benches scattered about the garden, and two white tables on the grassy patches, the scene seemed almost peaceful. But Beth wasn't fooled, and she assumed Adam wasn't buying this mockery of peace.

"God!" he muttered to her from her left side. "Look at the fountain..."

She turned towards the direction of Adam's gaze, and had to blink twice to register what she was seeing. The fountain was pretty basic, and nothing spectacular in design, but it was not the fountain itself that caught her attention. It was what sat at the side of the fountain that did.

"Is that a-?"

Beth nodded silently to Adam's query. She approached the object, and as the arteries and veins became clearer to her view, Beth felt her stomach churn as it finally dawned on her she was looking at a severed arm. The arm was covered mostly in a business suit sleeve, with a gold cuff on the end of the sleeve. The hand of the arm was dark-skinned, and still wore a gold Rolex on its wrist. The nails on the remaining two fingers looked chewed, as though its previous owner had been a nervous man.

Beth looked at Adam, and looked towards the blue door of the building in front of them. "Let's move it."

"What about the arm?" Adam asked, still in shock at the sight.

Beth raised an eyebrow. "What about it?" Before he could reply, she ran towards the door, her head and body lowered in case of snipers.

She paused at the door, and leaned against the wall. Adam caught up, breathing heavily, and stood in front of the door.

"Do we go in?"

Beth nodded. "In three... Two... One..."

At 'one', Adam booted the door open with his left foot, and pointed his gun in front of himself, ready to shoot. After a minute, Adam lowered his gun, and walked into the building. Beth followed shortly.

They entered a storage room, filled with cleaning supplies. Amongst the clutter of cleaning products and tipped-over lockers, was the bullet-riddled body of a bald, black man wearing a jumpsuit. The man's face was that of surprise. By the position of hisa lips, he had not screamed, or he had had no chance to. It had been a quick death for this man, and even though Beth did not know him, she was glad it had been quick for him.

Adam bent over to examine the corpse. "Man," he muttered, and turned to look at Beth. "He was shot seventeen times, mostly in the torso. A few rounds entered his legs, but I think it was mostly aimed at his chest. Can't say I envy him!"

Beth grabbed her radio. "Captain, this is Sergeant Cullen. We've found a man, possibly a janitor. Deceased. Seems he was shot to death."

The radio crackled, but the voice was Azure's, not the Captain's. "You're telling us! We're in the offices. Place is a fucking slaughterhouse. I'm counting about twenty six bodies, and that's just this room! We also found a guy outside next to the door with one arm."

"We found his arm," Beth sighed, and tried to contact Haze. "You there, kid?"

It was Robert who answered. "Afraid not. She was so nervous, she forgot her radio. I only found out when I drove to the designated waiting point. What's going on in there?"

"Nothing good," Beth responded, and clipped the radio on her side once more.

"Let's get out of here," Adam said, standing up, heading for the door they had just entered.

Beth grabbed him gruffly by the shoulder, and dragged him away from his preferred destination. "Don't think so. We're meeting the others in the lobby. Those were our orders."

Adam groaned, but complied, shuffling his way to the other door. As they reached the door, the light bulb above them flickered swiftly, causing Adam to yelp in surprise.

"It's just the lights," Beth said, slightly amused.

"I knew that," Adam replied hastily, feeling humiliated.

Beth shook her head, and opened the door in front of her, and crouching as she entered. The room in front of her was a large, open room. There was very few furniture in the room, with the exception of a large mahogany desk taking up one corner, a few waiting room couches coloured blue, and the grey, metal doors of the elevator. The main door, a big glass door leading outside, was blocked off by a multitude of messily piled boxes, shelves and tables. They were in the front lobby.

"So you made it," the Captain said casually, appearing from behind the desk. Next to him, head down on the desk, was the secretary. He was a young, spectacle-wearing man, and on the white shirt he wore were splashes of his own liquidised brain. The back of his head had been blown off, now only containing fragments of his obliterated skull and a puddle of drying blood.

"Like your friend," Adam spoke, only to get a glare from Jarreds for his trouble.

"Have you seen the camera footage?" he asked Beth. She shook her head. "Come and see this."

She leapt over the desk, and found a monitor under it. Jarreds pressed a few buttons underneath the monitor, and she watched the grey footage before her. The secretary sat casually in the footage, looking over some papers. The secretary cleaned his glasses, and as he placed them back on his nose, the back of his head exploded. As his head violently smacked itself on the desk, forming the pose he was currently in, three men dressed in grey jumpsuits, body armor and helmets entered. The helmets had visors, preventing anyone from seeing their faces. Each man carried a shotgun, similar to the Captain's.

"Replicas," she answered.

Jarreds nodded. "That's not all," he said, and pointed to the screen.

She watched as the Replicas threw furniture in front of the glass doors, blockading it. One Replica pressed the elevator button, and as the three waited, they seemed to be talking.

"No volume?" she asked the Captain, only to have him point at the screen again impatiently. He wanted her to watch.

The elevator opened on the monitor, and as the two people inside - one man, one woman, both in business suits - turned to see the soldiers, the Replica that called the elevator pulled out a handgun and shot the man in the eye. The woman placed her hands on the sides of her face, and despite having no volume, Beth could still tell the woman was screaming. Before the woman could even try to flee, the other two Replica soldiers flanked her, one bringing the butt of his gun into the woman's stomach. The woman tumbled to the ground, holding her stomach, and the third Replica entered the elevator, and pressed the button inside. The door of the elevator closed, and all life was gone from the monitor.

"Why did they keep her alive?" Beth asked, and nodded in greeting as Azure entered the room.

"That's something we'll find out soon," Jarreds replied, and walked towards the elevator. "Where's the rookie?"

Beth shrugged, and suddenly felt frightened for the new soldier. "I don't know. She didn't take her radio with her."

Captain Jarreds sighed in aggravation. "We need to act now. She'll catch up when she can."

What Beth did not expect was Adam's next objection. "But sir, she's only a rookie. We can't just-"

"People's lives are at stake!" he barked. "If we see her, we'll give her an update on the intel. Until then, we move out!"

Adam shook his head. "With all due respect sir, we'll lose her altogether if we do that."

Beth watched as Jarreds face went red from anger, but instead of shouting, he relaxed. "Fine!" he growled. "Azure, you wait here for Haze. Beth, Adam, you're both with me. We're going up to meet Sergeants Bransen and Stewart."

"Are they up there?" Adam asked.

Jarreds shrugged. "That's where Stewart's readings are coming from," he said, and pushed the elevator button. As Azure stood away from them, idly looking around, the other three targeted their weapons towards the elevator.

"Strange," Jarreds muttered, looking at his digital watch. "According to this, Stewart is on the elevator."

The elevator stopped, and as the doors opened, they found that Stewart was in there. Just not in the condition they'd hoped.

__________________________________________________________________

"Sergeant Stewart!" Jarreds yelled, running towards the blonde, spectacled soldier slumped against the elevator wall. Stewart's body, like the janitor's, was covered in bullet holes. The only difference was Stewart was still breathing, and dribbling blood.

"Replicas...." Stewart coughed. "We fought off as.... many as we could.... No use...."

Beth leaned towards Stewart, and looked into his eyes. "What about Bransen? Where is Bransen?"

Jarreds gave her a scolding look. "This is no time to let personal feel-"

"We got... separated...." Stewart interrupted. "He's.... still.... up there.... Somewhere...."

Jarreds shushed Stewart soothingly. "It's okay. We're here now. We'll find Bransen, retrieve York, and get the hell out of here!"

Stewart shook his head. "More.... There is more.... to-"

"Easy," Jarreds interrupted, but found he was wasting his breath. Stewart had passed out. He dragged Stewart out of the elevator, and looked to Azure. "When Haze shows up, get her to fix him up," Jarreds ordered.

Azure nodded silently, and dragged Stewart to the front desk. Jarreds walked into the elevator silently, followed by Adam. Beth paused. Something didn't seem right, and she knew that the chances of survival were low if she got in that elevator.

"Cullen," Jarreds called, and pointed at the floor of the elevator. "Now!"

Reluctantly, Beth looked around, and got in, and shuddered as the doors closed her in, not giving her any choice but to go up.


	3. Interval 03

No sooner had the elevator doors opened with an annoying 'ping' sound, that Beth found herself lying on the ground, arms over her head as bullets rained above her, clanging against the metal box she hid in. Lifting her head slightly to look around, dismay enveloped her as she saw her weapon metres in front of her. It must have flew out of her hand when she hit the ground, ducking from the many Replica soldiers firing upon them.

Up ahead, hiding behind a pillar and his face overwhelmed with bloodlust, was Captain Jarreds, firing his shotgun every now and then, taking down one Replica soldier each time. Not that it mattered to their enemy; if anything when one fell down dead, another would just enter.

The room they did battle in was a large lobby very similar to the one they had left Azure to guard. The floor around them - the patches not drenched in Replica or businessman blood, was a clean, white marble, with no signs of chipping. The pillars themselves were also marble, but unlike their floor counterparts, they had become chipped and riddled with bullet holes. In the centre of the room sat another desk, an exact replica of the one the dead secretary currently rested his empty head upon. However, no secretary sat at this one. Instead, three Replica soldiers took cover, their orders muffled by the sounds of gunfire. She viewed three other Replica soldiers hiding behind a pillar close to the Captain's position, and noticed that all eyes were on Jarreds as he fired wildly.

"Beth!"

Blinking, she looked towards the source, and was partly amused to find Adam hiding behind a tipped-over circular table. He clutched his submachinegun close to his chest, as though it was his child. The panic in his eyes did nothing to help her think straight, however. Pushing her body onto the ground, Beth crawled towards Adam's position, flinching every now and then when a bullet too close to her head whizzed past. Pushing the discomfort of being an easy target, she finally made it to Adam, and clambered behind the table with him.

"What do we do?" he shouted, his head lowered so much he was practically licking the floor. Next to Adam lay a dead businessman without a head, the man's blood leaking across Adam's left leg.

Beth looked back at Jarreds, and noticed that blood was flowing from a bullet graze on his temple, but the captain seemed unphased by his wound. In fact, it seemed to motivate him. It disturbed her deep down.

"We fight," she responded. "Do you have a sidearm on you? I lost mine over there."

Adam shook his head. "Sorry. Don't have one."

Beth sighed, and rubbed her eyes. She felt useless. "Okay, I'm going to make a dash for my weapon. I want you to cover me. You got it?" Adam's face drained of colour, and he seemed to not be listening. She had no choice, and decided to do something she had not planned to do. She slapped him.

Adam yelped. "Why-?"

"You are going to cover me, you got that?" Beth shouted to him authoritively, and this time got a petrified nod in answer. "Good. On three, get up and fire. Okay?" Another petrified nod. Beth breathed out slowly. "Okay.... three!"

As she dove from cover, she was reassured as she heard the rampant pumping of bullets from Adam's gun, and made a low run towards the handgun laying on the floor before her.

"We got a target," a voice shouted, and with sickening realisation, she realised it was a Replica soldier's voice. "Take her down!"

As the order was issued, Beth dived for the ground, and slid across it, her hand reached outward to grab the weapon she was closing in on. Nearby, a Replica soldier ran towards her, unwittingly moving towards Jarreds' location. As the soldier reached it, it yelled in shock as Jarreds grabbed it and twisted its head, breaking the soldier's neck.

Her hand closed in on the cold metal of her gun, and with a sigh of relief, Beth flipped herself onto her back, and without hesitation fired upon a Replica soldier targeting her with its sniper. In two rounds, the Replica fell to its knees, blood rushing from the gaping holes in its neck. Looking around, she saw Adam had returned to hiding behind his cover, and has lost all courage. As much as she wanted to kick him, she decided to concentrate on the remaining Replicas.

Jarreds, with no concern over personal safety, leapt from his cover, and fired relentlessly at the three Replicas still behind the desk, all three still unharmed during the chaos. The fourth Replica, who Beth had not seen since she first observed the scene, was now crawling weakly across the floor, one hand over the hole in its stomach while the other clawed to pull itself towards the open door. Feeling a surprising sympathy, Beth aimed for the dying Replica and put it down once and for all with one round to its head.

Rising to her feet, Beth pulled out a frag grenade, and with a quick call to Jarreds, she threw it towards the unwitting Replicas behind the desk, and dived behind the pillar Jarreds had originally held position. Her heart raced with adrenaline, and she could almost claimed it paused as the explosion rocketed around the room, showering the area with shards of the now destroyed desk. Cautiously, she peered around the corner of the pillar, and felt herself relax. Two Replicas were still alive, but were rolling around the floor, clutching their limbs in agony. The third Replica was pinned to the wall with a large part of the desk wedged in its chest. It was safe.

Jarreds walked in front of her, his grazed temple starting to clot. "Nice throw, Cullen."

Adam appeared, and humbly nodded. "Nice."

Beth ignored Adam, and turned to Jarreds. "What now, sir?"

Jarreds wiped his brow, and lowered the shotgun he held joyfully. "Adam will cover the elevator. You will investigate the left corridor. I'll take the right. We meet back here in five, with or without York."

With a nod, Beth headed towards the left corridor, but as she got near, a hand gripped her shoulder. Turning, she saw Adam, whose gaze was directed on the ground out of shame.

"I'm... I'm sorry I wasn't much use."

Beth nodded. "Just guard the elevator, and we'll forget it."

Adam did not reply, but turned back to his post. Beth felt slightly guilty for blowing him off like that, but decided it was for the best. They had a mission to do, and worrying about Adam was not going to help.

Shaking her head, she carried on heading for the corridor. The corridor before her was unlike the previous rooms. The lights above her were dimmer than the others, and the walls of the offices were made of an opaque glass, as though fog had been contained within the glass. Across the floor, Beth saw that it was almost decorated with the foggy glass, and many of the office walls - though she viewed to call them 'walls' quite a sick joke - were shattered. In many of the offices lay dead businessmen and women, each one riddled with bullets.

A movement caught her eye. Turning, Beth aimed her gun in the direction, and prepared to shoot. The movement made a clumsy sound, and was followed by a wince of fear. Sighing with relief, Beth approached the noise.

"Is anyone there? It's safe. Dr York?"

The head of a young man popped up from behind a desk, and Beth felt herself relax once more. It was a survivor. The man was dressed in a white shirt, though grime from the massacre had dirtied it. Around the man's left shoulder was a green tie stained with blood, tied around a wound. The man's hair was scruffy, though had the looks of once being oiled to perfection.

"I'm alive. Don't shoot me!"

The man raised his arms, and approached cautiously.

Beth smiled, and it seemed to relax the survivor. "It's okay. I'm here to save you. Are you Dr York?"

The young man shook his head, and looked around anxiously. "My name is Aldus Purple. I work for finances here. But I have seen York. Are you the rescue team?"

"In a sense," Beth replied. "Where did York go?"

Aldus pointed down the corridor. "He ran to his office. But Replicas went down that way. He's probably dead. Everybody else is!" Suddenly his face dropped in realisation. "Oh God! They're dead! Why would they kill them?"

Beth grabbed his shoulder. "Mr Purple. Calm down. Look, we're here to retrieve Dr York, but don't worry. We're not in the habit of abandoning people. I want you to go to the elevator, and wait there. I'll be there soon."

Aldus Purple blinked in shock. "On my own? But those people-"

"Are dead," Beth cut in. "We have a man guarding the lift. Just make sure you don't make any moves to startle him. We just cleared that area, and he's a jumpy guy."

"He's jumpy?" Purple looked fearful, but shook his head. "Okay. Can't I just go with you?"

Beth shook her head. "I'm going after York. And since you aren't a soldier, it's best I don't take you."

Aldus Purple gulped, but nodded. "Okay. Thanks, Mrs-"

"It's Sergeant," she smiled reassuringly. "Sergeant Beth Cullen."

"Sergeant," he smiled grimly. "Thank you. And kick their asses!"

At that, Mr Purple fled towards the elevator. Saying a brief prayer in her head for the survivor's safety, Beth carried on, and walked towards the direction of Dr York's office, once again raising her handgun.


	4. Interval 04

Before she reached the red door leading towards Dr York's office area, Beth picked up voices on the other side. Carefully sneaking closer, Beth placed her ear against the door, and listened. There were three voices, two of them Replica soldier voices. The third voice was a woman's, and she was crying.

"Where is York?" a forceful voice - obviously a Replica - demanded.

"I don't know," the woman weeped. "I'd tell you if -"

A smacking sound, and more crying. Beth assumed the Replica slapped her across the face.

"No excuses," the same Replica demanded once more. "I want to know where York is. If you cherish your looks, I'd speak now."

Beth blinked. These weren't Replicas. Replicas were merciless, but they never spoke like this. Hell, if anything, Replicas were trained soldiers, and acted to kill, not to torture. These were other people.

The woman carried on weeping, and the sound of a punch echoed to Beth's ears. She flinched, and readied herself to go in firing madly.

"Tell me, bitch!" the second 'Replica' shouted, and the sound of a kick came straight after, followed by a pained scream from the woman.

"Please," the woman begged, weeping harder. "I don't know anything. Let me go."

A cruel laugh from the second man. "I'll let you go. Go to Hell, that is!"

"No!" the woman yelled. "Please!"

Beth could not take any more of this. With a howl of rage, she kicked the door open, and the red door swung wildly, knocking down one of the men. The other man - who was definitely not a Replica soldier - stood in shock, his gun aimed at the kneeling woman's head, dressed in a black suit and wearing shades. Beth recognised the woman as the one on the security recording. Now, the once professional and beautiful woman was bleeding from her nostrils and mouth, and her left eye was bruised. Her shirt was ripped in places, where a knife had been cutting it and what lay under it. The woman's hair was grimy, and stained with blood.

Without blinking, Beth fired a round into the shocked man's face, and didn't flinch as the blood shot out of the new hole in the man's forehead. Behind, Beth noticed the second man - dressed the same as his friend but with a shaved head - staggering to his feet, still dazed by the impact of the door. In his hand, he held the knife he had cut the woman with. Mercilessly, Beth kicked the knife out of the man's hand, and whipped her own knife from the sheath attached to her right thigh. Before the man could react, Beth buried the blade through his right eye, and pushed it deeper as he howled in agony. Finally, after pushing deep enough, the man's screams became cut off, and the body fell limp to the ground.

She turned her attention back to the woman. The woman looked upon Beth with fear, and as Beth approached her, she tried moving backwards, away from her.

"Please," she began to beg once more. "I haven't done-"

Beth bent down, and placed a finger over her own mouth in a 'shushing' gesture. "It's okay. I'm here to help." She pointed a thumb towards the dead men. "Who are those people? They don't look like Replicas."

The woman sniffed, and relaxed. "They aren't. They're ATC Special Agents. Hired by the company to eliminate Dr York. Apparently, their personal blood hound Vanek was too busy with some group named Dark Signal."

Beth felt herself build up with questions, and refrained from containing herself. To her dismay, the woman saw this as temptation to cause harm, and was pained by the yelp of fear from the woman.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Beth reminded her. "I'm going to help you. But first, I need answers. Can you provide them for me, Miss-?"

"Allison. Miss Allison. But you can call me Helen," the woman answered weakly.

Beth nodded. "Okay, Helen. What do you know of Dark Signal?"

Helen shrugged. "Not much. Dr York worked on some members, and last I heard, Vanek was hunting them down."

"Okay. And do you know where Dr York is? Or have any idea where he could have gotten to?"

"I don't know!" Helen cried hysterically. "If I knew, I'd have answered them! Please don't kill me."

Beth grabbed Helen gently on the shoulder. "Listen. I'm not going to hurt you, or kill you. I'm here to get York, and save as many people as I can. I've already saved an Aldus Purple earlier. The name ring any bells?"

Helen Allison nodded. "Aldus is a friend of mine. I thought he got killed by the Replicas. Mind you, I just assumed I was the only one left."

"So did he," Beth replied, and used her knife to cut the bounding ropes around Helen's hands. "You're free now. I want you to run for the elevator-"

Helen shook her head, her eyes wide with fright. "No. I'm not going alone. I want to stay with you."

"Helen, I-"

"I'm staying with you," Helen interrupted stubbornly. "I don't want to go out there alone."

Beth sighed. "Look, I'm going after York. You are in no condition to fight, or in any position to. You're a businesswoman, not Joan of Ark. It's best for both our safety if you-"

Helen grabbed the gun off of the dead ATC agent closest to her. "Look, I can use a firearm. My dad was a cop, and he trained me to shoot. I can help. Just don't leave me on my own."

Beth thought for a minute, and finally gave in. "Fine. But stay close and keep your head down. And if I say run, you run. Got it?"

Helen nodded. "Thanks."

"How much is in that thing anyway?"

Helen pulled out the clip, and grimaced. "Three rounds."

Beth rolled her eyes, and searched the corpse for any ammo, and was thankful to find four more clips on him. She handed two to Helen. "I'll take the other two, as I'm running low myself."

"Fair enough," Helen said casually.

"Let's move," Beth stated, and together they moved deeper into York's quarters.

____________________________________________________________________________

York's office looked more like a penthouse suite to Beth, and the more she looked around, she found it was exactly that. The walls were decorated with expensive art and the floors were made of a smooth wood. Chandeliers hung from the white ceilings. There was a small kitchen to their right, with a sophisticated-looking fridge and red counter-tops for preparing meals on. Next to it sat a large, marble table with a vase of lively sunflowers sitting on top. A Persian rug lay near a leather sofa and a 32" plasma, flat-screen TV.

"Classy," Beth muttered.

"If I knew York was this financially set..." Helen muttered to herself, but did not continue her sentence, vaguely aware of Beth listening. "Not that I'm that shallow, of course..."

Beth did not answer, but got into a crouching position, noticing the stairs leading to a balcony above them. "Get down," she hissed to Helen. "That's a good opportunity for snipers, and with the little cover available, we'll be like fish in a barrel for them."

As though fate had heard, a round pierced the floor inches away from Beth's foot, splintering the wood. Adrenaline pumping, Beth dived into the kitchen, and flipped the fridge over, spilling out all its contents.

"Take cover!" she called, and was surprised at how swift Helen reached the fridge without harm.

"Where is it?" Helen asked.

Beth shook her head. "There's more than one. I noticed light gleaming off a few guns on the balcony running here."

"Replicas?"

Beth nodded.

Helen gulped. "What's the plan?"

Beth held up a hand, gesturing for Helen to be quiet. There were no sounds of fire, so it was best to keep quiet.

"Go investigate, soldier," a voice - clearly a Replica this time - sounded from above the balcony.

"Stay here," Beth hissed to Helen. "I'm going to take cover behind the counter. When I kill this soldier coming up, I want you to fire on the balcony. I don't care for your aim, but if you kill some, that'll help."

Helen nodded silently. With that done, Beth snuck across and hid behind the counter, the Replicas unaware of her position change. Silently, Beth watched the Replica walk down the stairs cautiously, carrying a submachinegun similar to Adam's. Seeing the gun made her wonder if Jarreds was having the same problems with Replicas down his choice of corridor, but she shook the thought from her head. She needed to concentrate on the current situation. Not on her captain's.

The Replica moved itself close to the wall, prepared for combat. Beth hated it for it, but also felt a strange repsect for it. It was just a soldier, like her. Trained to do obey orders and carry them out as efficiently as possible. They weren't vindictive in any real sense, just programmed killers.

_Sure, _she thought to herself sarcastically. _While you're at it, why don't you consider going out there to shake hands, or hug? Just kill it!_

Her mind was right. It was time to kill or be killed, and she preferred the former. Sliding from cover, she fired into the Replica, who despite its caution fell back shocked after a round hit it in the chest. Before its comrades could converge upon her, the sound of gunfire from behind the fridge occurred, and Beth felt suddenly glad she had kept Helen with her. After four rounds fired from Helen, a figure fell from the balcony and collided with the ground, splintering the wood floor further.

"Medic!" a Replica cried out, but to no avail. Around it, its comrades lay dead or dying.

Deciding to finish off the fight, Beth pulled out her knife again, and threw it at the Replica. However, the Replica saw this, and effortlessly knocked it away with its gun. Unfortunately for it, this left it open to Helen, and the beaten businesswoman was not giving any chances. A few well-placed shots later, and the Replica fell dead.

Beth smiled to Helen. "Nice shooting, Tex!"

Helen blushed. "Well, it was them or me."

Laughing, Beth clapped her on the shoulder, slightly proud of the businesswoman who had been weeping not so long ago. "Good attitude. That'll keep you alive when-"

A blast cut her off, and suddenly Beth found herself spiralling towards the balcony. Her back hit the railing of the staircase, and with a cry of pain she fell on the ground. Her body felt weak, but screams forced her to look up, and suddenly she regretted it.

Before her stood the naked woman from her dream, plodding casually around the room, hair wildly covering her face and upper body. Behind her stood the twisted, withered tree. Blinking, Beth looked around. They were no longer inside York's apartment. They were in the dream world she had been forced to enter every time she slept. But this was no dream.

Helen looked around confused, not seeing Beth or the nude, crazy woman, the latter approaching the unsuspecting businesswoman at a dangerous pace. Beth tried to call out, but found she couldn't. The air refused to allow her to speak, or breathe. All she could do was lay there and watch it play out.

Helen was still looking around absently when the first shadowy tentacle shot from the ground, and skewered her through the left eye. Howling in agony, Helen dropped to her knees, in the same position Beth had found her. Another tentacle erupted from the ground before them, and shot through Helen's right eye. Helen waved her arms about in a futile attempt to shake them out. The nude woman now stood in front of Helen, the businesswoman still struggling to rid herself of the invaders inside her eye sockets. The nude woman remained where she was for a moment, and let out a high-pitched wail of rage. The sound pained Beth's head, and she found herself closing her eyes and her hands over her ears. When she opened them again, she was back in York's apartment.

Her strength returned to her, and from the feeling of weakness, Beth was able to stand, though with great pain in her back.

"Helen?"

She looked towards the area they had both stood moments before, and was horrified to find what now remained there. Helen was still there, but not how she had looked moments ago. The business shirt and skirt now clung to a deteriorating skeleton, and the eye sockets of the skull were large, as though something had forced its way into both of them.

_Something _did _force its way into her eye sockets,_ she thought miserably. _Two large tentacles from a crazed nudist!_

"I'm sorry, Helen," Beth moaned, and rubbed her own head from stress. Things were not going to plan.

In fact, as her father used to say, 'the shit had hit the fan' on this mission!


	5. Interval 05

Feeling sick as she looked upon the remains of Helen Allison, Beth could not help bend forward and vomit up her breakfast. The bile burned her throat, and she could smell the unpleasant mix of stomach acid and half-digested food. Staggering to lean against the stair railings, she looked up, and gasped. The door they had come in was no longer there.

Hoping to be wrong, Beth staggered painfully towards where the door had been, her back stinging with pain. Reaching the door's previous location, she spread her palms onto the wall, and rubbed it, hoping that it was an illusion. That she would find a handle. That her mind was playing tricks on her.

It wasn't. The door wasn't there. It was gone.

"Impossible," Beth wheezed, and held her side with pain. Seemed best to only talk when necessary, and unfortunately, she needed to talk. Reluctantly, she reached down and grabbed her radio, and opened a comm with the only person who could help her.

"Captain, this is Cullen," she breathed. "I'm in York's penthouse, but the door has disappeared. Over."

A pause, then the radio crackled. "Repeat that, Cullen. Over."

"I said the door is gone. I'm stuck in York's penthouse."

Another pause. "Is York with you?"

"Negative," she sighed. "I have found two other survivors, though one-"

_Go on, _a mocking voice said inside her head. _Tell him that you allowed a businesswoman to follow you into enemy territory, and then some crazy naked bitch gouged out her eyes and took all her skin. He'd just love to hear that!_

She ignored the voice. "She didn't make it. The other civilian is with Adam. Over."

"Understood, Cullen. I'll move to your location ASAP. Jarreds out."

Clipping the radio back on her hip, Beth picked up her handgun, mentally kicking herself for dropping it twice in one mission. Heavily relying on the railing for support, she climbed the stairs to the balcony. Blood ran down the stairs like a river, its source a dead Replica soldier. Her knife lay near its corpse, but she ignored it. She wasn't in the mood - or the condition - to use it. Reaching the top, she looked around. The balcony had a wood floor exactly like the one downstairs, and less splinters. Up there sat a glass coffee table, with an empty, coffee-stained mug sitting on a coaster. Laying on its side next to the table was a leather chair, now christened with two bullet holes. Nearby the table and chair was another red door.

"Do I dare?" she asked herself, and without further thought opened the door. She had entered York's bedroom.

The bedroom was unscathed, and it seemed the Replica forces had not entered it. The room was pure white; white walls, white ceiling, white carpet floor.A king-sized bed sat in the middle of the room, its bedsheets purest white and untouched by any person. Near the bed was a large window and glass door, which led to a balcony outside, overlooking the company's gardens.

"My God," she said, astonished. "It's so beautiful in here."

"Thank you."

Startled, Beth turned to face the speaker, but as she turned, a fist caught her between the eyes, causing her to stagger back. Trying to regain the upperhand, Beth struck out with her own fist, but only felt the fabric of the assailant's coat. Another fist slammed into her stomach, and she coughed violently, temporarily winded by the attack. The attacker quietly moved behind her, and suddenly she was on the ground, a foot standing on her back, pushing down with no intention of gentleness.

"York?" she croaked, trying to reach for her handgun, which yet again lay in front of her on the floor.

"Clever girl," he chuckled, and stomped down hard on her back, causing her to wince. At that moment, rage blinded her, and she knew that if he relaxed, she would take every opportunity to kill him there and then.

"I know what you're thinking," he continued smugly. "You want to kill me. I've seen that look before."

"Then let me see your face, you slime!" she gasped.

York made a tutting sound. "Now, now. No need for such abusive words. You're lucky I didn't throw you off the balcony outside, though it was rather tempting." His foot moved off of her, but before she could take an opportunity to attack, he kicked her in the side, blinding her with more pain. During her writhing, he grabbed her handgun. "An amusing little toy... Shame it won't help you now." At that,she heard him open the glass door and throw the gun off the balcony. "Since you're in too much pain, I need not worry of you seeing my face. I must run, you see. I'm a busy man."

She heard his footsteps approach the door, and stop. "Oh, he added wryly. "I left you a present. Ciao!"

Laughing, he ran out of the door, and she heard him leap down the stairs. Holding her side, and her vision blurring dramatically, Beth clawed her way onto her feet. She wanted nothing more than to rip York's smart tongue out of his mouth, and tear off his smug head. Then they'd see who was laughing.

_I left you a present!_

She blinked, and turned towards the bed instinctively. Sitting on the bed, smiling giddily, was a yellow teddy bear. Its black plastic eyes seemed to be mocking her, and she knew why. On its lap, resting casually, was a C4 detonator.

"Some people just leave candy," she muttered, and turned to run.

Instinctively, she ran towards the red door, but to no avail. The teddy bear's mocking look soon exploded with the C4 it held so lovingly, and the blast knocked Beth through the glass door, shattering it. She watched in horror as she flew over the balcony, and felt the rush of air past her head and body. She was hurtling down to her death.

_Maybe it would have been easier if he had thrown me over the side, _she thought weakly, a burning sensation taking over her arms and torso. _Saved me some time._

Beth closed her eyes after this thought, and before she made impact, she thought of Trent.

___________________________________________________________________________

York's penthouse was not the only area rigged to explode. All around the building, explosions shook the foundations, sending shards of brick, glass and wood scattering around like a cheap, insane fireworks display. Areas crumbled violently, debris crushing many unfortunate survivors, whether they be Armacham businessmen, Replica soldiers or just unlucky people near the vicinity.

Aldus Purple, who had spent most of his time laying low with Adam near the elevators, lost his grip on self-control, and hurried into the elevator, only to have it disconnect and hurtle down towards his very unfortunate demise. Adam, meanwhile watched in horror, taking his post behind the tipped-over table, hugging his gun for dear life, praying to whatever gods were out there that he would be fine.

Jarreds ran back towards the elevators from the office he had searched, eager to catch up to Cullen, and possibly York, only to be struck by falling debris, and knocked down.

Azure, unaware of anything that had happened since half the team went up the elevator, dragged the still-breathing Sergeant Stewart towards the desk, just in time to avoid the explosion of the falling elevator. Dust covered them, causing both men to cough, but both remained unscathed, and still curious of Haze's disappearance.

For Haze, nothing had changed. Lost, alone, and being hunted by an unseen creature in the dark, Haze remained in hiding, refusing to allow the creature to have a glimpse of her existence.

York ran down the corridor, yelping like a frightened dog, but proud of himself for taking care of that female soldier. Little would he realise that that would not be the last time he would see her again, and nor would he get away so easily next time...

**Note: This is not the end of the story. Do not worry. I would not end such a story so cheaply and so early.**


	6. Interval 06

Grey grass underneath her. The sky above was a blood-red. A non-existent wind moved the grass, and whistled through her ears. Her eyelids flickered. Pain engulfed her body.

Beth sat up, and groaned soundlessly as she discovered her arms, the sleeves of her uniform now burnt off, were singed and extremely red. She looked herself over, and was dismayed to find her shirt was burned halfway, exposing her flat, now reddened midriff. She was relieved to find her legs and lower uniform had not been touched, but found she had lost her boots. Her feet were bare, but unscathed.

Looking to her left, she gasped as she looked upon the tree. She was back at this desolate place. She tried to stand, but found it impossible. Her legs felt tenderised, as though they had been minced by some cruel machine.

_Am I dead?_

A shadow flew past swiftly from the right side of her. Startled, she reached towards her holster, and found her gun was not by her side.

_Of course not, _she thought, sickened by the memory. _York threw it over the balcony. I think I might be dead. That would make this place-_

"-Hell," she whispered to herself, feeling a tear spill freely from her eye.

_"She is angry," _a voice hissed.

With a yelp, Beth found her feet, and leapt onto them, ignoring the angry pain inside her body. The voice had seemed familiar, but at the same time it seemed unlike its previous owner. Saddened, almost angered. The voice contained hatred and pity.

She turned, and staggered back with another scream as she found herself face-to-face with Helen Allison. But Helen did not have the beauty she had during life. Her eyes, where the tentacle had entered, were empty; only large, black holes that seemed to stare at her despite the lack of eyes. Her once smooth, beautiful skin was now grey, and cracked, creating an ugly mask on Helen's face. Her teeth were decaying, and the breath from her mouth created the stench of bile and salty blood.

_"They will all suffer as I have," _Helen hissed, grabbing Beth's shoulders with dry, cracked hands anddragging her towards her decaying face. Flakes of grey came off her hands and lay on Beth's shoulders. _"They deserve to suffer!"_

She shook off Helen's hands, and fell backwards into a sitting position. Helen made a step forward. Beth started to crawl away backwards, but stopped as the figure of Helen Allison crumbled mystically in the air, and disappeared. She felt her heart beat upon her ribs, as though it fought desperately to burst out of her body.

"It's over," she panted, and regretted saying it as a pair of arms linked around her, and spun her around, making her face the creature of many nightmares. The black hair flowed around Beth's face, like the dark tentacles that had spawned earlier to kill Helen. The crazed eyes of the woman seemed to pierce into Beth's mind, and were burning with rage.

Beth lost her breath, and could not scream...

_______________________________________________________________________________

Jolting awake, Beth lashed out at the air, and sat up. Like in her dream, her arms and midriff were exposed and red, but her feet were still wearing her boots. She wiped at her face, and looked at the blood and sweat that had built up on her face. She had felt a gash above her left eye, but she found it the least of her concerns. Her heart still pounded after being confronted by those who had been in her dream.

"Yes," she panted. "It was all a dream. Just a dream."

She looked around her current location. It was a small, dark, damp room, coloured a dull, concrete from the dull light shining from the window above her - a window she had smashed through during her fall from York's penthouse - the room was almost pitch-black. She could make out shapes of wooden shelves, and cleaning products cluttered around the shadows. It was another janitor's closet, but without the dead janitor. Not that she complained about that missing detail.

She grabbed the radio from her side, and felt her heart sink as it came apart upon her touch.

"Perfect," she sighed miserably. "I'm on my own."

"Not quite," a voice echoed.

She looked around swiftly, eager to find the speaker. "Who said that? Reveal yourself!"

"The radio," the voice answered. "On the shelf closest to the door. That's where I'm speaking from."

Confused, she stood onto shaky feet, and shuffled to the shelf, grabbing the radio.

"Good," the voice continued. "Now, listen carefully. What I'm about to tell you is vital for your mission and your survival. You are in classified territory, so expect to run into some heavy fortification. I guarantee you will bump into Replicas, ATC security guards, and to top it off it seems you have grabbed Alma's attention."

"Alma?"

The voice sighed. "Have you seen a black-haired woman at all during this mission? Naked; pale; not good with social skills?"

Beth nodded. "Yes. That thing isn't in my mind?"

"Considering it killed a woman in front of you, I doubt it. Or we're both crazy!"

"Wait," Beth started. "How do you know all this? And how come I saw Alma and Helen didn't?"

The voice sighed once again. "I know this because I have access to all security cameras. That's what a good hacker does, after all. As for Alma, only those with an above telesthetic ability can see her."

"Telesthetic ability?" Beth asked, confused.

"We haven't got time for this," the voice groaned impatiently. "Right now, I'm the only one who can help you. As far as my terminal is showing, you are the only life sign within the vicinity. Your team's life signs are crackled, though it is probably due to still being inside the building. And considering how lucky you were to survive that fall, I think you're the best candidate for this."

"What makes you think I'm going to help you?" she asked challengingly. "I don't even know you."

"This isn't time for playing suspicion games!" the voice snapped. "If you want to know who I am, you're going to have to trust me. And considering your weapon is in pieces, I am your only chance of surviving this."

"Can I at least know your name?" she snapped.

"You can call me Telford," the voice answered. "And before you ask, I'm not worried about being discovered. I've ensured that the only ones who can hear this conversation are the ones talking this minute." A tapping sound from Telford's end of the line, and his voice returned. "Okay, the door in front of you leads to a grey corridor. Fortunately, the armory is located in this corridor, so getting a new weapon won't take long. Unfortunately, the corridor is guarded by two ATC security members. I hope your hand-to-hand skills are up to scratch. The armory requires a security code, but leave that to me. You just concentrate on neutralising those guards."

"I want to know something, Telford," Beth breathed, rubbing her arm, trying to soothe it. "Why are you trying to help me? What's in this for you?"

"I want you to catch York as much as your Captain does," Telford answered seriously. "That son of a bitch is responsible for this building, and all the deaths. I'm also hoping you might take the time to get me the hell out of here. Preferably alive."

Beth sighed. "I'll see what I can do."

"Okay. I'll keep you updated. And remember: Alma's attention seems to be on you."

"What do I do if I see her again?" Beth asked.

A pause. "Pray she lets you live. Good luck out there." With that, Telford was silent.


	7. Interval 07

The door of the janitor's closet sidled open easily and without noise, to Beth's relief. She was also relieved to find Telford had been correct about the number of guards. Two men, both young-looking, stood outside a blue door with a keycard swipe next to it. The men wore the blue ATC security uniforms, and, to her dismay, carried the Rakow G2A2 Assault Rifle. But to her fortune, both had their backs turned to her. Closing the door slowly and silently, Beth closed the door, and stuck to the shadows of the corridor, thanking the dim lighting.

"Can I ask you something?" one of the men, a blond-haired man, asked.

"Shoot," responded the other man, who wore an ATC riot helmet and visor.

"Why are we here?"

"You know," the helmeted man sighed. "I ask that many times. Why are we here? And for what purpose? Was it part of God's design, or was it a Big Bang? What is the purpose of our existence, and how big is it, considering how insignificant we are compared to the expansive universe before us."

The blonde man paused, and looked confused. "Um, I was just asking why are we guarding this spot when it has electronic security?"

"Oh," the helmeted man sounded disheartened. "Okay."

"You want to talk about the other thing?"

The helmeted man shook his head. "No. I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"I'm fine," the helmeted man said, slightly annoyed.

Beth watched, and found herself holding back laughter. It amazed her how casual they were acting when all around them their building was crumbling down. She couldn't believe how dense these 'soldiers' were. She almost felt bad for having to take them out when the time came.

"Man, I need to take a leak!" the blonde man finally spoke.

"Now?" the helmeted man responded. "I mean, didn't you hear what Perkins said on the radio?" He gripped his gun closer to his chest. "The guy was creaming about super-soldiers before he started screaming. It's safer to stay here."

"What do you suggest? I piss on the door?" the blonde man snapped. "Because I'm pretty sure there's a rule against doing that."

Helmet guy shook his head. "You're really difficult to work with."

"Coming from Mr Philosopher!"

"I misunderstood your question!" the helmeted man snapped defensively. " Not my fault you have no soul!"

The blond man shook his head in aggravation, and walked away from the helmeted guy.

"Where are you going?"

"For a leak, as I vowed to!"

"Fine!" the helmeted guy shouted. "See if I care! Hope those super-soldiers rape you!"

"And you," blond man replied casually, and entered a door marked 'WC' with a symbol of a male person next to it.

The helmeted man turned, and before he could react to the person standing before him, Beth brought her foot up with force, connecting it with his face. With a grunt, the man fell down unconcious.

"Idiot," she muttered, and watched the toilet door carefully, her back next to the armory door.

"Almost done," Telford's voice came from the radio.

Beth ignored Telford's voice, and waited for the toilet door to open. She picked up the helmeted man's gun, and observed his dogtag: '_Pvt James'._

"Congrads, James," she whispered to his unconcious body. "You get to live another day..."

The toilet door swung open, and the blonde man entered, casually holding his gun and itching his crotch. He looked confused at Beth at first, looked down upon the knocked-out James, and looked back up, only to feel Beth's fist connect with his jaw. He staggered back, and dropped his weapon. With another punch to the crotch, the blond man - named '_Pvt Bevan' _according to his tag - dropped to his knees, moaning aloud, tears running down his face.

"Why?" he hissed, pain flowing in his voice.

Beth grinned. "Because I can." With that, she swung her leg up and brought her boot down on the top of Bevan's head, knocking him out.

"Nice moves," Telford answered. "Now you can kill them easily."

"I'm not killing them," Beth said, and turned to the armory door. Hearing a click come from it, she pushed it open.

"With all due respect," Telford stated uneasily. "If you keep them alive, they may provide problems later."

Beth laughed heartily. "How? They were armed, and easily outnumbered me, and yet I'm the one standing over their unconcious bodies. Besides, I'm locking them in the armory. They'll be safe there."

"Safe?" Telford sounded surprised. "This is hardly a good time to play the compassionate fighter. These men will kill you when they wake up."

As though his words were an activation code, the helmeted soldier named James started to stir back to conciousness.

"Ugh.... What the-?"

Beth kicked his head, and was brought to tears of laughter as his head slumped limply and sent him back to the world of unconciousness.

"Nighty-night," she chuckled, and placing her arms under his armpits, she dragged him into the armory.

____________________________________________________________________________

There were limited weaponry in the armory, and out of the many weapon lockers that stood open, she only found three combat shotguns, two handguns, and three clips for the G2A2 Assault Rifle. Deciding it to be smart, she grabbed the remaining ammo clips, and left the other weapons.

"Is that all you're going to take?" Telford enquired doubtfully.

"There's no ammo for the other ones," she answered casually.

A sound of a shrug. "If you say so. Search the bodies for extra clips."

Nodding in agreement, Beth patted down both unconcious men. Bevan did not have any spare clips, and his weapon contained only half a clip full. However, James was carrying two extra clips, including a full one in the gun she now owned.

"Well," she said to noone. "We see who was more prepared for the worst."

"Can you get going already?" Telford sighed impatiently. "This door is going to lock in about two minutes, and it'll take thirty minutes before I'll be able to access the armory's security, not to mention the ten minutes it will take to open the damned thing, and I don't think your 'friends' will be happy to see you when they wake up."

Beth nodded, the thought sobering at the least. "Okay, where to now?"

"I advise you take the-"

Beth didn't like the pause. "What is it, Telford?"

Telford's voice quivered. "I've located another survivor. Do you know a Sergeant Stewart?"

"Yes!" Beth almost cheered, feeling refreshed to hear that another person had made it. "Where is he?"

Telford's uncomfortable tone did not keep her optimistic. "He's been captured by ATC security. Doesn't look in good condition, either."

"How can I reach him?"

"He's two floors below you, and with the elevators under shut down, you'll have to take the stairs down. But be careful; the areas are heavily guarded with ATC. And I doubt they'll be as slack as those two."

"Okay," she nodded, and ran out of the armory, hearing it click shut behind her.

As she reached the red door marked 'stairs', she stopped. It was in her mind, and she was desperate to know.

"Telford?"

"Yes?"

"Is there any sightings of a Sergeant Trent Bransen?"

"Sorry, can't find anyone by that name on the monitors."

Her heart sank, but at the same time she expected it. "If you do locate him-"

"I'll let you know," he finished for her. "Is he a relative or something?"

"My fiance," she answered.

"Okay," Telford responded emotionlessly. "I'll keep watching for him."

"Thanks," she said, and made her way down the stairs, hearing more chatter below her.


	8. Interval 08

"Sergeant," a voice spoke from up ahead of her. "We found one of the members of Delta Force. A Sergeant Stewart, according to his tags. The Captain requests you go to him, and get information out of him, since you're the best at persuasion."

"You mean torture," the Sergeant answered, and Beth felt a rage build up within her. "Where are Bevan and James? I've called them twice on their radio. No response."

The other voice spoke casually. "Probably sleeping on the job, sir. They aren't exactly the best Armacham have trained. Anyway, Sergeant Hilde, Captain Gravell is waiting for you."

The sound of footsteps indicated that the Sergeant was leaving to act out his orders, but Beth had no intention of letting Sergeant Hilde getting there. Peering from behind the door leading away from the stairs, she observed her odds. It was a large room before her, filled with tables and chairs. A counter was located in one corner, holding many bowls of salad and buffet food. It was a cafeteria. She counted the amount of men before her. Including the Sergeant Hilde - a large, muscular man wielding a combat shotgun - there were seven ATC security members. One - obviously the other speaker - followed Hilde towards another door at the other end of the room, carrying a handgun. Three men were huddled near the salad bar, discussing amongst themselves, two armed with RPL Submachineguns and the third unarmed, though Beth saw his weapon - a combat shotgun - laying on a table. One man lay on the table, singing drunkenly while holding an empty bottle of whiskey, his weapon holstered at his side. The final man, an African-American man carrying a 10mm High Velocity Penetrator Gun. Beth had seen this weapon before during her training. With a lethal flechette of nails, this weapon had the power to pin its victims to walls.

This was going to be a difficult fight.

Staying low to the ground, Beth sidled the door open silently, and aimed her weapon at the leaving Sergeant Hilde. She aimed the rifle at his head, focused her breathing, and her finger tightened on the trigger-

"Intruder!"

Yelping in shock, Beth turned to see one of the men beside the salad bar point at her, grabbing the attention of the other men. She watched in horror as Sergeant Hilde turned, and fired at her instantly, narrowly missing her head. Ducking behind the door, Beth breathed out. Things were going bad.

"Take her out!" Sergeant Hilde barked, and suddenly she could hear him running away. He was escaping.

Not thinking of her safety, Beth jumped out of cover, and fired a short burst, and was glad as the Sergeant fell to the ground and slid across the floor, his back bleeding out from the several holes that exploded upon him. The soldier next to him took the remaining rounds from the burst, exploding his head in shards of skull and brain matter.

The men at the salad bar started to fire upon her position, and without thinking she leapt behind a turned-over table. Bullets hammered upon the table, but none pierced through it, to her fortune.

"Frag out!" one of the men called, and as she looked up, she felt colour rush from her face as the rounded object came hurtling through the air towards her.

Instinctively, Beth flipped her gun in her hands, holding the barrel, and like a baseball bat swung the weapon, knocking the frag back towards the thrower. As she ducked, she saw the smirking thrower lose his confidence, and his face go blank before the frag grenade blew the expression off, along with most of his face. Bullets continued to rain upon Beth's table, the constant noise drilling into her head painfully.

She blinked hard, and was surprised by what happened.

"DO. NOT. WA-VER!"

The voice was deep, and seemed to be slowed down. Shocked, Beth also noticed that the bullets did not hit the table as constantly as they had previously. Moving from her position swiftly, she watched in awe as the African American soldier turned his head slowly towards her, and moved his body and gun to face her. But the movements were slow, almost mechanical. As though-

_As though time is slowing, _she thought, and realised it wasn't just that. Her body felt like it was being drained, as though a machine was sucking all the energy out of her through her head. And it was draining fast.

Muffling the warning voice in her head, Beth turned swiftly, and fired three rounds into the man carrying the Penetrator, and watched as he slowly toppled, his gun firing wildly, one harpoon-like round piercing through another soldier's head and pinning him high onto the wall. Another struck the drunken soldier through the chest.

"RE-TREAT!"

The remaining ATC soldier dropped his weapon, and with his hands over his head fled towards the door she had come from. Taking no chances, Beth shot him down as his hand clenched the door's handle. As he fell, a zipping sound ran through her head, and the body hit the ground quicker than it had been falling. It seemed time was constant once more.

"That was amazing!" Telford's voice gasped in awe from the radio. "How did you move so fast?"

"What?" Beth answered, confused. "I didn't so anything. If anything, time slowed down."

"Not from what I saw. If anything, you were moving like a blur!" he replied, still in awe. "Those guys didn't have a chance!"

"I don't-" she stopped talking. She had done something. A hard blink had done it. She tried again, but to no avail.

A groaning sound distracted her from the time incident, and she noticed that Sergeant Hilde was not dead. In fact, he was attempting to crawl towards a shotgun in front of him. Not giving him the chance, Beth ran to his position, despite feeling drained, and stomped on his back. He screamed, and lashed out fruitlessly at her.

"Bitch!" he cursed. "You'll pay for this."

"Where's the hostage?" she asked authoritively.

"Go to Hell," he growled, and spat on her boot.

She pushed her other foot harder onto his wounded back, and smiled as he snarled in agony.

"He's downstairs with Captain Gravell," he moaned.

"Thank you," Beth smiled, and without further ado, shoved the gun's barrel into Hilde's mouth, and fired two rounds, feeling the blood splatter over her face.

"Very ruthless," Telford said disagreeingly. "You must be really fun to drink with."

"Just direct me to Sergeant Stewart, and this Captain Gravell," she ordered.

"Fine. Go through the door Hilde was running to. Then take the left corridor. That'll lead you to an unguarded stairwell. Go down the stairs, and when you enter the next corridor, enter the first door on your left."

"Thanks," Beth nodded, and followed his directions at a quick pace.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Telford's directions were extremely accurate, and with no resistance in between, Beth found herself outside the interrogation room in a matter of minutes. Peering through the window next to the door, she studied the situation.

The room was a small office room, and coloured a dull white, like a hospital room. There was a wooden desk that had been flipped over, and all that had sat upon it was spilt across the floor messily. On the wall was a board, with notes pinned onto it. One note in particular caught Beth's eye: '_Remember to email Aristide. She's riding on my back like crazy! - Aldus Purple'._

Sergeant Stewart, beaten badly but very much alive, was sitting in a chair, his hands cuffed and placed behind him. Standing next to him, his knuckles showered in blood that was not his own, was a large, beefy man wearing black, military gear. The man had dark-red hair scruffily arranged upon his head, and a goatee. Another man stood the other side of Stewart, but compared to everyone else, he looked skinny and weak. His face was almost rat-like. But it was the man standing opposite of the three that caught her attention. His head was shaved, and like the red-haired man, he had a goatee but coloured blonde. He wore a light-coloured military uniform, with three medals pinned onto the right breast of his military blazer. She guessed this important-looking man was the Captain Gravell.

"Now I'm going to ask you again," Captain Gravell asked, his accent clearly giving him away to have originated from the state of Delaware. "What is your mission?"

"Bite me," Stewart retorted weakly, and received a punch to the face from the red-haired man, who grinned viciously.

"Now, you're making this difficult on me," Gravell sighed. "I need to know what you are doing here, and how many of you are there. If you cooperate, it will go smoother for you. If not, I'll be forced to make it as uncomfortable for you as possible."

"Again, bite me!" Stewart muttered, and spat onto Gravell's boot.

Gravell, disgusted, pulled out a cigar, and lit it. Smoking it casually, he wandered towards a combat shotgun leaning against the destroyed desk.

"You give me no choice," Gravell sighed, and with the speed of a bullet grabbed the shotgun's barrel, and swung the butt of it at Stewart's head.

With dawning horror, Beth watched Stewart's head snap to the side, and dislocate from his neck, bones jutting out from the back of his neck.

"No!" she cried out, forgetting the danger in front of her.

Gravell turned to his men, hearing Beth. "Take her out!" he shouted, and ran towards another door. Beth didn't give him a chance.

With fury flooding her system, she leapt to her feet, and fired the remains of her clip into the red-haired man and his weedier accomplice. As they fell, Gravell turned around, and leapt at her, determined to knock her down. Beth tried to reload quickly, but found Gravell collided into her, knocking the gun out of her hands. The two fell to the ground with a thud.

Before Beth could defend herself, Gravell brought a fist down onto her face. She screamed as her nose clicked and blood leaked from her nostrils. Another fist came down on her face, this time catching her jaw. She felt the inside of her cheek split open, and allow more blood to flow out of her.

"I'm going to give you twenty flavours of pain, bitch!" Gravell growled, and brought his fist down again, this time hitting her throat. Shocked, she lost the ability to breathe.

Gravell got off of her, and stood up. "Now to finish this," he grinned, and lifted his foot up, determined to bring it down on her head.

She watched as the boot came down, but as it got close to her face, it moved away, as did the body of Gravell. A figure hurled itself at Gravell, and with hostility the figure wrestled Gravell on the ground. Gravell booted the figure off, and grabbed his shotgun. As his hands grabbed the shotgun, the attacking figure locked his grip on the shotgun.

"Let go," Gravell muttered, and attempted to smash the barrel of the gun upon the attacker's head. The attacker dodged both hits, and countered with his own, much more successful hits. In three strikes, Gravell's face pulled a dazed expression, and the Captain seemed unaware of anything. Taking advantage of the situation, the attacker placed the barrel under Gravell's chin. Realisation dawned in Gravell's eyes, and at the last second pulled the gun away, avoiding the shot that could have blown his head off. Furiously, the attacker brought his knee up, smashing it into Gravell's testicles. With a scream, Gravell lost his grip of the gun, and staggered back.

Gravell's last look was of resignation as he stood there, his hands cupping his crotch, and the pain in his crotch was soon replaced with a large gaping wound in his chest. With a groan, Gravell's knees buckled, and he toppled down, spilling his heart and lungs out onto the floor.

The attacker threw the gun to the floor, and turned towards Beth. The person marched up, and as they bent over, Beth was overwhelmed with happiness at the sight of the handsome face before her.

"Need a hand?" Trent Bransen grinned, and offered a hand.

She took the hand, and as he hauled her up, she locked her arms around him, and hugged tightly, letting tears flow freely.

"I thought I lost you," she whimpered into his ear.

Trent laughed. "You should be so lucky."

"Sergeant Cullen," Telford's voice spoke. "I found your fiance."

With that, Beth burst into laughter.


	9. Interval 09

For a while, the two of them stood in their embrace, not one of them speaking. The happiness inside Beth flooded her body, and she felt that she would burst. She had not expected to find him so easily, and now here they stood, their bodies pressed tight together, and their arms clinging onto each other as though for dear life.

"Okay, reunion time is over," Telford broke the silence finally. "As happy as I am there's a happy moment in this, let's remember that there are still people dying here. I don't intend to be one of them, and I advise you think the same way."

Reluctantly, Beth was the one to break the embrace. As she did, she saw that Trent's eyes were watery, and was close to tears. She felt her heart tug at this, and had to fight the temptation to embrace him again.

"He's right," she said to him. "We got to get out of here. There's some strange things happening here. I don't plan to stick around."

Trent nodded. "Did you find York?"

"Yes, though it wasn't a pleasant introduction," she smiled grimly.

"He hurt you?"

"Mostly my ego," Beth tried to laugh, but it came out more as a cough.

Trent's face reddened with bloodthirsty rage. "Bastard!" he growled, slamming his fist into the palm of his other hand. "I'll take him in alive, but he'll regret messing with you."

"Get in line," Beth smiled, but Trent did not return it. He was enraged.

"Look," Telford spoke. "You need to get moving. There's an elevator directly down the corridor from this office. It will take you to-" Telford's words were cut off by more typing, and his voice returned, but with an alarmed quality to it. "Oh God, what's he doing?!"

"What's happening?" Beth asked, starting to fear the worst.

"It's Dr York," Telford began. "He's in the Generator Room. He's trying to switch down all the power. Is he insane?!"

As the word 'insane' left Telford's mouth, all the lights and electronics went off, sending them all into darkness. Beth felt the air desperately, and found contact with Trent's hand. She squeezed it tight.

A minute later, and the lights returned, though they were considerably dimmer than before.

"I got the auxiliary power online, but the elevators are offline," Telford sighed. "I can't return power to the elevators until someone manually turns the power back on. Sorry, but I'm not doing it. I'm safe in this room, and I don't plan on leaving it any time soon."

Beth sighed. "I guess I'm doing it."

Trent shook his head. "You've been through enough. I'll sort out the power. I want you to get the hell out of here."

"What?" Beth asked, stunned.

"It's too dangerous here," Trent explained. "There are more than armed men in this place."

"He's right," Telford added. "This place contains experiments that are beyond belief. Unfortunately, they're no longer under containment due to York's little prank. It's going to be hard from here on."

"So you're both saying I should go?" she stated, slightly annoyed. "That a little girl like me can't handle herself in this situation?"

"Actually," Telford began. "I'm just saying send him to take care of the power. You're needed to complete your mission." A pause. "No offence, Sergeant Bransen."

"None taken," Trent answered. "Though I must say, I'm surprised you know us, yet we know nothing of you." He looked around, looking for a camera. "Who are you? And why the interest in our mission?"

"I'm David Telford. And helping you is part of the deal that involves rescuing me. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours."

Trent's eyes sparked briefly at the name. "David Telford, huh? That's your name?"

An awkward pause. "Yes. That's my name."

"Really," Trent muttered, and stroked his own chin in thought.

Beth didn't like this. "What is it?"

Trent was silent, and suddenly shook his head. "Nothing, Beth. Nothing at all." He turned to her. "Look, here's the plan. I am going to get the power back. 'Telford' will be my eyes and ears from his comfy seat. You got it?"

"Affirmative," Telford answered dismissively.

"And you," Trent continued. "Beth, I want you to promise me not to get into unnecessary danger."

"I can handle myself," she frowned.

Trent nodded. "I'll take it as a 'yes'. I want you to wait for the elevator to come back on. When it does, board it, and Telford will direct you on the next part of succeeding our mission. I'll catch up to you if I can." He looked up. "Telford, do you know hoe I can reach the generator room?"

"There should be a vent in the office next door. Follow it until you reach a chute downwards. That'll slide you to the floor the generator room is on. Be careful; there's no telling what could be down there with the experiments loose."

"Just keep me posted on it," Trent replied casually, and turned to Beth once again. "Promise me you'll stay safe."

She rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine. Just get your good-looking ass to that generator room."

Trent laughed, and pulled her close, and kissed her passionately. She closed her eyes, and kissed back, feeling the adrenaline of her love pump from her mouth into his.

As he pulled away gently, he smiled foolishly. "I'm going. Just keep your fine little ass safe. You got it?"

"Can you both stop talking about asses?!" Telford exclaimed, to both their amusement.

Trent winked at her, and left the office, leaving her behind once more.

"Be safe," she whispered, and felt sorrowful at seeing him go. With a loving sigh, she left the office and started heading for the elevator.

______________________________________________________________________________________

The dim lights above her made it hard to see, but Beth was able to see enough to be able to know that there was nobody in the area. Nobody alive, anyway. The corridor she walked down that led to the elevators was a sort of bridge. At either side of her, there were no doors. Just large glass, showing the labs below her. Many bodies lay inside the labs, most wearing labcoats or green surgical scrubs tainted with blood splatters.

She stopped, and observed one of the labs below. One light remained in the lab, and it flickered excessively. In the lab, three dead women wearing labcoats were scattered about. What interested her in them was that the blood pools around them were fresh, judging by the way the flickering light shone upon them. There were no bullet wounds from what she could see, so they were not killed by Replicas or the AT-

A thump on the window startled her, and sighting the being that made the noise almost caused her to wail like a banshee. The creature hung on the metal next to the window. It was humanoid in shape, and looked as though it had been once, but no longer. The creature was a burnt-pink, and was hairless. Its claws - which replaced where it had once had fingers and toes - dug into the metal with ease. The creature's face was circular, and looked almost mask-like. Its razor-sharp teeth gleamed in the flickering light, and its narrow, blood-red eyes glared at her hungrily.

With a slobbering snarl, the creature breathed upon the glass, showering it with bloody spittle. Beth moved away from the glass, panting fearfully. The creature watched her with interest, and with a caw, it leapt from its perch down to the corpses below, and dug its teeth into one of the corpses.

"What in God's green Earth was that?!" she muttered to the radio.

"An abomination," Telford replied.

"No shit," she snapped. "But what is its official name?"

"Abomination," Telford replied testily. "That's what they're called. Absolute animals! They were attempts at creating psychic commanders to control the Replica forces. As you can see, that didn't work out so well. Now they're crazed cannibals with no alliance. Not to mention extremely agile, and dangerous."

"Those things aren't near Trent, are they?" she asked.

"Not as far as I'm aware," Telford responded, to her relief. "Also, I've got some bad news about York."

"If he's dead that is good news," she answered heartlessly.

"No, he's alive," Telford told her, and judging by his tone he wasn't happy about York's survival either. "The bad news is he has disappeared off the monitors. I lost him."

"We'll find him," Beth sighed, and decided to carry on moving towards the elevator.

Every step she took filled her with dread, and the image of that creature - that Abomination - came to mind, as did the idea of it smashing through the glass and hounding her down, its teeth eager to rip her open and bask in the shower of her blood and guts as it would toss them from her dying body.

She remembered that she hadn't reloaded her weapon, and slammed in a new clip for the assault rifle.

_Smash!_

Her nightmare came true. She turned towards the noise, and before her in a crouching position was the Abomination. It seemed to grin maliciously at her, and saliva dripped to the floor. A hiss of hunger escaped its mouth, and with the agility and grace of a cat, it leapt onto the ceiling and clawed its way towards her. Losing all confidence, Beth sprinted away, eager to reach the elevator before it reached her.

She did not make it ten steps before she was bowled over by the creature, and as she turned to lay on her back, it pinned her to the ground. She held up an arm to protect her face, and screamed as the Abomination locked its rear claws into her stomach and its upper claws onto her arm. The creature reached forward, biting the air inches away from her nose. She heard herself mutter a cry, and started to writhe in order to shake it off. Its claws dug in tighter, determined to keep hold of her.

Weeping from the pain, Beth spat into the creature's face, and felt her moral rise as its grip on her loosened as it swiped at the spittle on its face. Taking advantage, Beth rolled it off of her, and crawled her way towards her dropped gun. As her hand hovered over the butt of the gun, a sharp object slashed its way down her back. Screaming, she grabbed the gun, and turned to face the Abomination, that now licked its claws to taste the blood on them.

"Eat this, you little shit!" she snarled, and fired an entire clip into the creature.

The Abomination avoided the first five rounds, but yelped as the rest of the clip mowed it down, turning it into a pulp of flesh, teeth and claws. Beth heard its eyes pop, but ignored the sound, waiting for its screams to end.

The Abomination kicked furiously from the puddle it noew formed, and with a choked cry, it became motionless.

"Are you okay?" Telford asked.

"Does it look like-?" she began, and suddenly, she blacked out.


	10. Interval 10

She blinked herself awake, and groaned as she was once again greeted by red sky. The grey grass under her felt prickly on her bare arms and lower back. The non-existent wind continued to whistle in this dead place.

"Why here?" she moaned, not moving from her position.

A small, child-like hand as cold as ice slid onto her palm, and Beth felt her own body freeze up. She shuddered to think what was touching her, and she whimpered lightly as the small fingers gently folded over her hand. A small girl appeared in her view. The girl was no more than eight years old, with a pale, expressionless, doll-like face. The girl's eyes were dark grey, with a taint of yellow hiding underneath the colour. Her hair was as black as coal, and ran tidily down to her lower back. On her pale body, the girl wore a red dress. The girl's feet were bare.

"_Wake up,"_ the girl spoke, but her mouth did not move. The words seemed to echo inside Beth's skull, but the words calmed her. The voice seemed to be soothing, telling her all will be alright.

The hand tugged gently at hers. Smiling, Beth allowed the hand to pull her up to a sitting position. She felt the air become disturbed as she closed her eyes, her body becoming a puppet for the little girl.

_"Wake up."_

She opened her eyes, and the grinning face of the Abomination came down upon her face, teeth gleaming.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

"Wake up, Sergeant!" Telford's alarmed voice echoed through the still corridor.

Groaning, Beth opened her eyes, and reluctantly lifted her head.

"Thank God!" Telford sighed with relief. "I thought you were a goner! You've been savaged by that creature."

"How long was I out?" she asked, and winced as she felt pain shoot through her stomach. Looking down, she saw the puncture holes in her bare stomach that the Abomination had made earlier.

"You were out for about ten minutes," Telford answered. "You weren't breathing at one point. It seemed like you were going to leave us."

Nodding slowly, Beth crawled to her feet. She felt blood flow freely down her scarred back. "Is there a medical office nearby?"

An awkward pause. Then Telford answered, his voice quivering. "You're near it. In fact..." She heard him gulp. "It's down one flight of steps."

"You mean-"

"Afraid so," he said, confirming her bad situation. "Through the labs. And you can pretty much guess who are the local residents of those labs."

She shuddered. She knew very well what was dwelling there. She had just killed their paperboy.

"How many of them are there?"

"Lots," Telford swallowed nervously.

She exhaled, fear engulfing her, praying for her to just hide somewhere.

_No, _she scolded herself. _I need medical attention. A wounded soldier is an unreliable soldier._

"I'm going down there, Telford," she muttered. "I'm no use like this."

"Just remember to reload," Telford reminded her. "You fired quite a lot of bullets at that thing."

"Thanks for the tip."

"Happy to help," Telford replied. "Whatever gets me out of here alive."

Beth snorted a laugh. "You're such a charmer."

____________________________________________________________________

The trek down the stairs to the labs was uneventful, the only organics being herself and a dead bald man without a face wearing green surgical scrubs. She raised her rifle, preparing herself for another ambush. She wasn't going to be careless this time!

Pushing open the door, she entered the labs, and stifled a scream. The labs, which were large, spacious rooms only separated by glass walls and each owning at least three desks, were infested with Abominations. The creatures acted casually, unaware of her presence. Some feasted upon the corpses; some jumped and crawled around without meaning. Two Abominations growled at one another as they fought over a dead fat woman, shaking their heads wildly, both holding a piece of the woman between their teeth. Blood splashed from their mouths, and showered the walls with red. The scene sickened Beth.

Her back against the wall of the lab, she slid herself across it, her gun in front of her, ready for the Abominations to catch scent of her and begin the horrific descent of hounding her down and feasting on her. Her eyes remained fixed upon the Abominations closest to her; a trio of Abominations carving their claws into the body of an old man with a shredded labcoat.

She briefly closed her eyes in horror as she looked back at where she had started. A trail of blood followed her, smeared across the lab's white walls. The other side of her lay a green door labelled 'Medical Office'. The sight of it pleased her, and the optimism in her heart followed her, and was the cause of her carelessness as she trodden on a glass beaker.

The Abominations all went silent, and turned their gaze towards her. She felt her eyes widen as each one snarled at her, their eyes hungry despite the feast of corpses they had decorated across the labs. She lost feeling in her legs, and found herself frozen to the spot.

As she raised her rifle, the first of the Abominations struck, screeching and coming down on her from the ceiling. A few rounds later, the creature crashed in front of her, motionless. As their dead comrade hit the floor, the rest of the Abominations moved in, teeth gnashing and claws outstretched. At that moment, Beth decided to do what was in her best interests regarding her health: she ran.

"Telford!" She screamed out, running for the Medical Office, determined not to look back. "Help me!"

"The door's unlocked," he responded. "I'll see what I-"

White static replaced him, and all the lights went off. She stumbled into a table, and fell to the floor. She heard the cries of confusion of the Abominations behind her, and then the blind fury in their howls as they surrounded her. She looked up, and was grateful to find her assault rifle still in her grip. However, an Abomination placed a claw on it, holding it down to the ground. Behind her, another Abomination leapt to her feet, and sniffed her boots with eager anticipation. The one on her gun snarled gleefully into her face, and moved in to bite her-

_Boom!_

The echo of the shot rung through her head, and she was surprised as the Abomination in front of her flew over her, blood trailing behind it as it hurtled into the one behind her. She looked back, and was grateful to see the Abominations clawing at their injured brethren, feasting on its dying body. Beth's eyes shot back in the direction of the gunshot, and was both relieved and shocked.

The medical office door stood open, and standing there, a Magnum .357 in his right hand, was a young tanned man dressed in an ATC security uniform, and wearing pitch-black sunglasses. He wore a dark crew-cut hairstyle, and on his right arm was a bloody bandage.

"Move it!" the man yelled. "I'll cover you!"

Without thinking, Beth scrambled to her feet and ran towards her saviour. The man fired at the creatures behind her, each shot followed by the sound of a screech. In a matter of seconds, she reached the door, and felt the man's hand clamp onto her back and throw her into the medical office. She stumbled forward, and grabbed the desk before her for support as the door slammed shut.

The man blew a sigh of relief. "Can't believe there are more survivors out there."

"Why did you save me?" she asked suspiciously. "Not that I'm ungrateful, but the last ATC officers took potshots at me."

"Hey," he reacted, slightly offended. "I'm not one of those. I was here before the whole shootouts." He shone a torch, and smiled grimly. "Also, she told me to."

Beth looked in the direction of the light, and was overwhelmed with joy at the sight of pink hair and the young girl that sported it.

"Haze!" Beth cried cheerfully. "I'm so glad to see you're okay."

"Ditto," Haze replied with a grim smile. "I had a little problem. Something was stalking me. I don't know what, but some explosion scared it off. I caught up with the others eventually, though I got separated from Azure while we were scouting around. Jarreds said you were dead."

"You could say I was," she laughed. "So how did you two meet?"

The man held out a hand. "The name's Officer Glenfield. I found her roaming around alone, and dragged her here for safety." Beth shook his hand, and he proudly shone his torch at another door. "Go through. We'll meet the others and discuss our plan of escape."

"There are other survivors with you?"

Haze nodded. "Mostly scientists and suits."

Glenfield nodded in agreement. "Let's hop to it, people! And get that wound stitched up." He indicated towards Beth's back.

"Thanks," Beth patted his back, and entered the door towards the other survivors.


	11. Interval 11

The door led them to a large clinic-like room, with a mahogany desk sitting in the corner, and a hospital bed nearby it. A white curtain was folded to the side of the bed. On the desk, amongst the clutter of files, was a large torch that kept the entire room alight, its glow a bright green.

Upon entering, a man dressed in ATC uniform approached them, a handgun holstered at his side and running a comb through short, blond hair.

"Thank God you're back," the man sighed, and clapped Glenfield on the shoulder. "I had a feeling you were snack food for those freaks."

Glenfield shook his head with a grin. "Not a chance, Lachance. Did Keller get the blueprints?"

Lachance nodded. "Not without risk. It came back."

"What came back?" Beth asked.

Lachance looked at her suspiciously. "Who's this?"

Before Beth could answer, Glenfield beat her to it. "This is Sergeant Cullen. One of Haze's team."

"So we have another one?" Lachance combed his hair calmly. "Not that it helps us. That thing is relentless."

"You keep speaking of a thing, but you don't elaborate on it," Beth retorted.

"The Scarecrow," a gruff voice answered, and from a shadowy corner came an old, balding man in a blue jumpsuit.

"Scarecrow?" Beth asked.

"Keller," Glenfield answered, ignoring Beth's question. "You got the blueprints?"

Keller nodded. "Of course!" he croaked. "I might be old, but it doesn't mean I'm unable to help."

"I understand," Glenfield rolled his eyes. "What about the others?"

Keller coughed, and wiped spittle off his mouth. "Well, Doctor Braintree is looking through his medical stash, and Doctor Kaunz is sulking, as usual! That man is an absolutely miserable shit."

"Alright, bring them in here," Glenfield ordered. "We'll discuss our plan of escape."

Without any sort of response, Keller turned away and left the room. Beth watched, and noticed a limp to the old man's walk.

"Did he always walk like that?" she asked, concerned.

Lachance nodded, and carried on combing his hair. "Don't let it fool you, though. When he runs, he runs!"

Glenfield laughed. "Amen to that."

"Anyway, about this 'Scarecrow' you mentioned," Beth raised the topic again.

"It's one of Alma's most cruel creations," a miserable voice answered.

Turning, Keller entered, followed by two men in labcoats. One man was a young, spectacled man, with gelled, brown hair and dark eyes. The man was rather attractive, and his face shone with intellect. He smiled grimly at her. The other man, a rather stout scientist with scraggly grey hair in his mid-sixties, was behind him, and was the person who had answered her. The expression on his face matched his tone.

"Ah, Doctors Braintree and Kaunz. Meet Sergeant Cullen. She's going to help us," Glenfield introduced.

"Bah!" Kaunz snorted. "Like that other one?" He pointed a wrinkled hand towards Haze. "Nobody can protect us from Alma. Only stall her!"

"Tell me more about this Alma," Beth asked. She needed to know about Alma. For her, Kaunz probably had vital information she'd need.

"Harlan Wade's bitch of a daughter," Kaunz replied. "She was a strange kid when she was young, and now she's god-damned insane with rage."

"I want the full story, doc," Beth retorted.

Kaunz shrugged. "Fine! You aren't going to like it though," he cleared his throat. "As a young girl, Alma Wade was capable of things beyond human ability. Due to her abilities, we assigned her to Project Origin at the age of five. She was attuned to the negative emotions of others and suffered nightmares. During one of our interviews, she turned Dr Green, her supervisor at the time, into a babbling wreck. We had to drag the woman out of the room, with her screeching about being alone in a small cell." He shook his head in disgust. "Anyway, the older she got, the stronger she became, and the more sadistic she was, the more deaths she caused. Eventually, she became a sort of 'host' to future successes, such as Fettel, and the FEAR member you knew simply as 'Point Man'. However, she didn't take losing her children well. So we locked her in the vault, and her father, Harlan, left her to die." Kaunz ignored the shocked and horrified faces of Beth, Keller, Haze, and Glenfield. "But here's the catch; she _refused _to die." He seemed to laugh at this. "People don't just refuse death, but she did."

"But how does she-?" Beth began.

"I'm getting there!" Kaunz snapped. "Her telesthetic abilities were beyond spectacular, but they had their effects. As a result of being within the vault, Alma's mind was split into two: the little girl, and the lamenting mother. Let's just say, none of them are a good omen to see." He shuddered.

"You're sick," Haze gasped from behind Beth. "You tortured that poor girl. You deserve whatever she throws at you."

Kaunz waved a dismissive hand at her. "Don't waste your breath, girl! I care little for your lecture on morals."

Dr Braintree, who had remained quiet for the most part, cleaned his glasses calmly, and cleared his throat gently. "As terrible as Armacham have been to most of its victims, our main priority is to escape this place. Could we please debate morals when we're out and safe?"

Beth shrugged. "Sounds fair."

She looked to Haze, and saw the girl was internally debating this option. "Fine," she reluctantly decided, and pointed at Kaunz. "But we'll talk about this."

Kaunz rolled his cynical eyes, but said nothing.

"Okay," Glenfield breathed, and bent over the opened blueprints on the desk. "According to Keller's mapping, there is a ventilation system leading directly to the main entrance lobby. The only problem is, the entrance of this vent is in Laboratory 07. And we're in between Labs 01 and 02. With the Abominations and our friend the Scarecrow, our chances aren't high. Especially with the main and auxiliary power offline."

"Trent's on it," Beth countered.

"Trent?" Glenfield asked.

"He's alive?" Haze added.

Beth nodded. "If we're lucky, he'll get the power on while we head for this vent. Then when we get you folks to the vent, we're going to carry on our mission."

"Right," Glenfield said, but sounded slightly disappointed. "What's our ammo situation?"

"Well," Lachance answered, slipping his comb into his pocket. "The only people with guns are myself, you, and the two Deltas. Keller lost his weapon while getting the blueprints, and the docs can't shoot for shit. As for ammo, I've got three clips for my weapon, including the one currently in the gun."

"I'm good," Haze responded.

"Ditto," Beth added. "Though I need something for my back."

"Of course," Glenfield slapped his own head with the palm of his hand. "I'm an idiot. Braintree, can you do something for her?"

"I could inject a hemostat into her, but that's all we got time for," Braintree replied regretfully.

"Okay," Glenfield sighed. "Braintree will do his best to patch up Beth. Then we're moving out. Be prepared, people. Shit is going to hit the fan big time!"


	12. Interval 12

Braintree injected her back, and minutes later, Beth felt a numbness take over it.

"What you doing back there, doc?" she asked warily.

"Numbing your back with an anesthesia," he replied solemnly. "Your back is worse than I thought it would be. I'm going to inject a hemostat to stop the bleeding, then stitch this baby up. You might feel a slight stinging, but it will only be temporary. The itching will replace it, and boy will you prefer having the pain." He chuckled lightly, and she barely felt the othe needle enter her back.

"Do we have time for this?" Kaunz snapped.

"If she's in bad condition, we have to help her as best we can," Glenfield replied calmly. "We can't not help her."

Kaunz rolled his eyes, but remained silent. Lachance peered through the room's window to the outside labs, his face full of concern. Keller sat in the corner, staring mindlessly at the ceiling. The old man's face seemed to show that he didn't want to watch the stitching, and Beth couldn't blame him.

A hand wrapped around hers, and when she turned, she found the hand was Haze's. Haze looked at her, and smiled supportingly. She felt grateful for Haze's assurance, and had to fight back tears of emotion. Her mind trailed off, and she wondered if Trent and Telford were okay. She hoped so.

"Done," Braintree declared proudly.

"That was quick," Beth answered.

Haze looked behind Beth, and turned back to her. "He's right. Perfect stitching too."

Glenfield grinned wryly. "Did I forget to mention Braintree is the fastest surgeon and medical doctor in the world?" He laughed as Beth blinked in surprise. "He's wanted across the globe for his skills."

"Remind me to kiss you when we get out of here," Beth smiled to Braintree.

Braintree blushed. "Not necessary at all. It's my duty to help those in need of medical attention. Especially those trying to help us escape."

Without any indication or warning, Haze pulled Braintree down, and kissed his cheek lovingly. "You can have it off me instead," she smiled.

Braintree chuckled. "I love my job."

Keller laughed. "Okay, lover-boy. Let's get the hell outta here. I plan to be alive for my retirement."

Beth grabbed her rifle, and held it tightly. "I'm ready."

_______________________________________________________________________________

The corridor they stalked down was black, but fortunately empty of any creatures. The only lights came from the torches Braintree and Keller held. They moved at a fast pace, with Glenfield and Haze up front, followed by Kaunz, Keller and Braintree, and with Beth and Lachance covering the rear of the group. Surprisingly, despite his severe limp, Keller moved gracefully, and never slowed. Unlike Kaunz and Braintree, who were starting to pant heavily and wipe at their brows.

"Unfit whelps," Keller broke the silence. "Back in 'Nam, this was a casual walking pace."

Beth blinked, interested by this information. "You were in 'Nam?"

Keller nodded, not looking back. "Fought in '69 to capture Hill 937. It was named so because of its height. Anyway, it was there I picked up the limp, after I accidentally set off a trip mine." He sighed. "Compared to the rest of my squad, I was lucky. I got away with a limp, while they were torn to pieces by gunfire."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Beth responded.

"Don't be," Keller exhaled. "Casualties of war are to be expected. It's just a shame when your friends are the casualties."

"Amen to that," Lachance answered, and whipped out his comb.

"So in comparison to this-" Glenfield began.

"It doesn't even compete with 'Nam," Keller interrupted. "This incident is our own fault. 'Nam was the government's fault. Most of us knew what we were getting into when we joined Armacham." He turned a spiteful eye towards Kaunz. "Didn't we?"

"Will you shut up, you old coot?" Kaunz hissed at him. "There could be those things running above us, and we'd not be aware of it at all, because you're running off your trap!"

Keller shook his head, and carried on moving. Beth pitied the old veteran. Once a soldier, he now worked for a large company as a janitor, and probably received little to no respect from anyone until now. She hoped that her life would not go in such a direction.

"I'll tell ya somethin'," Keller began, ignoring the distressed sigh from Kaunz. "When I get outta here, I'm moving to Hawaii. Sip milk from coconuts and all that shit."

Glenfield laughed. "I'll ensure you're on those beaches, Keller."

Lachance stopped, making the others turn suspiciously.

"Lachance?" Beth asked curiously.

The comb-wielding security guard wiped his shoulder with his free hand, and studied the mucus he gathered from it. "What the-?"

At that instant, a shadowy figure wailed and fell upon Lachance.

"GET IT OFF!" Lachance cried out as he tried wrestling the creature off of himself.

Glenfield moved in to help, but was knocked backwards as another figure moved past him, scuttling towards the fallen Lachance. Beth kicked the second figure away, and fired a clip into it, and was horrified to see it was an Abomination.

"GET IT OFF!" Lachance screamed again, writhing faster as his attacker smashed a clawed hand down upon him.

More screams came from behind them, and Beth turned just in time to see six Abominations fall upon a frightened Kaunz and tear him apart. Braintree, who was standing next to the older scientist, attempted to beat off one of the creatures with a torch, only to have the light snatched from him. Before he could further endanger himself, Braintree was yanked backwards by Keller, keeping the young doctor away from the devoured scientist. the six Abominations ignored them, happy with their feast.

Glenfield clambered to his feet, and ran to Lachance's aid. With a well-placed kick, Glenfield knocked the Abomination off his friend, and before it could stand, he brought his boot down on its head.

"Thanks," Lachance breathed, and stood up. Though they now only had one light, Beth could see that Lachance's arm was shredded, and ran red with his blood. He was also missing two fingers on his hand.

"Are you okay?" Beth asked, concerned.

Lachance snorted. "Just a scratch."

As though hearing this, the Abominations at Kaunz's now scraped body screeched out of hunger, and darted about the corridor, surrounding the remaining members.

"Stay close together," Glenfield ordered.

"Wait," Keller began, startled. "We've lost Haze and Braintree!"

Beth looked around, and felt sickened to see Keller was right. Both of them were nowhere to be seen.

"Shit," Lachance muttered. "Hate to tell you guys, but I've also lost my weapon."

"Perfect," Glenfield sighed sarcastically.

"Look," Lachance began, his voice shaking. "I'm a dead man, there's no chance I'll get through this. I'll distract them, and you guys run for it. I'll at least be able to buy you time."

"No," Glenfield snapped back. "Nobody else is going to die."

"There's no option to it," Lachance answered back, and with that he ran off. Attracted by the movement and smell of blood, the six Abominations hounded after him, eager to feast.

"LACHANCE!" Glenfield called out, but did not run after him. It was too late.

Keller pointed past the dead Kaunz. "Let's go!"

Beth tugged on Glenfield's shoulder, and eventually the three of them were running; Keller in front, followed by Beth and Glenfield in the back, still dazed by Lachance's sacrifice.

__________________________________________________________________

In mere minutes, they sighted Lab 07, and to their relief, Haze and Braintree sat at a desk, a large torch shining with them.

"Haze! Doc!" Beth called excitedly, pleased to see them.

The two turned, and their eyes widened, but not from joy. From fear.

Braintree pointed at them, his face pale in the light. "Watch out! It's-"

She didn't hear the rest, as a large hand swatted her from the side, knocking her flying into a wall. Her head pounded painfully as she looked around for her attacker.

"Scarecrow!" Keller croaked, and fled towards the light. "Get to the light!"

She looked around, and as the creature floated into sight, she pressed herself against the wall, hoping to fall through it and away from the beast before her. The infamous Scarecrow she had heard of was as horrific as it had been stated. Its face was an oval shape, and had the texture of a white potato sack. Narrow, red slits sliced through the sack-like face, forming its eyes, and below them were several rows of serrated fangs. In front of it, it held out two large hands with talon-like white fingers, the tips stained with dry blood. Its body was a dark, fleshy colour, and its lack of legs made the creature look like a meaty ghost. Behind it, shadows twisted and slithered like angry snakes. The creature studied her vehemently, and made a hissing noise at her.

"Hey!" a voice called. "Wanna get some?!"

The creature turned, and both it and Beth were surprised by what made the noise. Wielding a shotgun, bloodied and bruised, but otherwise fine, was Lachance. His face was twisted in a ferocious expression, and he instinctively fired upon the creature. With a wail, it vanished upon being hit by the blast, twisting into the darkness. Lachance ran to Beth, and helped her up.

"That was easy," she breathed. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me. I only scared it off," he panted. "It'll be back."

"Lachance!" Glenfield called gleefully. "Get the pair of your asses into the light! Before it returns!"

Not needing to be told twice, the two ran to the group, and upon entering the light's perimeter Glenfield embraced Lachance in a friendly hug.

"Don't do that again, asshole," Glenfield muttered to Lachance.

"No promises," Lachance laughed, and lowered himself to the ground.

"How's your arm?" Braintree asked.

Lachance waved off the suggestion of help. "I'm good thanks, doc. Where the hell did you two go to?"

Haze answered for him. "We were separated, so we decided to head here to meet up with you. Sorry."

"Don't be," Glenfield responded. "I'm just glad we made it."

"We're not out of it yet," Keller sighed, his voice sounding like upcoming doom to Beth. "The vent is locked, and won't open without power."

"Shit," Glenfield cursed. "How long will-"

"Pete?" Lachance suddenly asked, looking towards the darkness.

Curious, Beth looked, and to her surprise saw a man walking through the darkness, wearing ATC security uniform. His left arm ended at his elbow, which was sliced up and bloody.

"Get over here!" Lachance called. "Quick!"

Pete kept wandering aimlessly, and to their horror, the Scarecrow swooped in.

"Move it, Pete!" Glenfield screamed out, but was too late.

The man named Pete turned, and with a yelp got sntached up by one of the Scarecrow's large hands. It gripped him by the top of the head, and the unarmed man flailed in a futile atempt to escape. The Scarecrow looked at them all, and with a malicious grin slammed Pete's head into the wall. Pete's head evaporated on impact, showering the wall in an explosion of hair, blood and brain matter. Lachance screamed in horror. Glenfield looked agape upon the brutal scene. Haze hugged Braintree, unable to bare looking upon the gory display. Beth stared in horror, and blinked hard.

"PEEETE!"

Everything had slowed down for her again. Lachance staggered to his feet slowly, grabbing his shotgun. The Scarecrow turned his attention on them, and seemed to swim towards them. The others cowered backwards, away from the creature, except for Lachance, who started firing upon it. Beth's head ached and burned, as it had the first time things slowed down. The Scarecrow bared down upon Lachance, eager to tear into him-

With a buzz, the lights came back on, as did the entire facility's power. The Scarecrow moved backwards, crying in agony upon the touch of the light. Glenfield slowly ran to Lachance, who stopped firing at the creature, confused by the lights.

Not thinking, Beth ran to get some revenge. Raising her rifle, she fired repeatedly into the creature, everything moving slowly except for her. The Scarecrow flailed about painfully, and fell to the ground, slashing at the air. Feeling a brutal instinct take over, Beth leapt upon the creature, sat on its back, and smashed the butt of her rifle down on its head, not stopping until it caved in.

Her radio crackled, and Telford's voice echoed from it. "Power's back. Did I miss anything?"

Beth let out hysterical laughter.


	13. Interval 13

"How did you-?"

"Who knows," Beth shrugged to Glenfield. She didn't know how she did it, but somehow, she had torn up the creature with the butt of her rifle and her bare hands, performing these actions at a speed uncanny to the staring survivors.

"That's impressive," Lachance gasped, getting helped to his feet by Braintree. Braintree avoided looking into Beth's eyes, clearly discomforted by her actions. She felt hurt by Braintree's mistrust, but could not blame him. He had just seen her shoot across the room and rip a demon into shreds. Who wouldn't be afraid?

"It's open," Keller called to the others, exposing a grin that lacked some teeth.

Glenfield looked at Beth, then at Haze, who had moved to stand alongside Beth. He smiled grimly, but warily. "Looks like this our cue to depart."

Haze, without warning, embraced the man before her, and patted his back. Glenfield stood there, clearly unexpecting the hug, but eventually patted her back in response. Behind them, the others watched, and Lachance attempted a wolf-whistle. Glenfield's face went red with embarrassment as the whistle reached his ears.

"Thanks," Haze muttered to him, and let go of him. Glenfield nodded silently with a smile.

Beth nodded towards Keller. "Take it easy, old man."

Keller cackled gleefully. "Damn straight. Beaches and hot women, here I come." With that, he clambered into the vent.

Braintree laughed, and dragged the wounded Lachance with him.

"Dirty old gaffer," Lachance muttered.

"I heard that," Keller called back.

"Good," Lachance replied slyly.

"Take care, Lachance," Beth called to him, and got a wave from him in response. "You too, Braintree."

Braintree paused, and, looking over his shoulder, smiled. "You too, Sergeant. Don't get hurt out there."

"No promises!"

With another laugh, Braintree gently sent Lachance through the vent, and followed behind the wounded officer. That left Beth and Haze with the officer that had saved both their lives from being devoured.

"So, this is it," Glenfield spoke, his tone slightly disheartened.

"Doubt it," Beth sighed. "No doubt we'll run into each other, and some other big bad creature to make the moment complete." Glenfield laughed, making Beth smile grimly. "Thanks for your help, Glenfield."

He shook his head. "No, thank you. Without the two of you, none of us would have made it here. And thank your fiance for me. He's a courageous man."

"Don't I know it," Beth said, and watched the ATC officer stride to the open vent. He looked back briefly, saluted them, and dived into the vent. Despite what she had said, Beth had a strong feeling she would never see him again, and she hoped it was true.

"Then there were two," Haze sighed, and a tired smile crept onto the young girl's face.

Beth clapped her on the shoulder, and grinned. "For now. Let's move it, rookie. We got lives to save."

Haze mock-saluted. "Roger that, Sarge."

With that, the two giggled, and made their long journey back towards the elevator, to meet the man responsible for the power restoration.

___________________________________________________________

Their journey back to the elevator was mostly uneventful, and surprisingly they did not see or hear any Abominations. They strode past the torn body of Kaunz, trying to block the image of how twisted and misshapened his body had become. She did not know if Haze felt the same, but Beth was fighting the bile that was eager to break loose from within her, determined to decorate the white floor.

It was when they reached the stairs next to Lab 01 that they picked up the sound of screeching and gunshots. The two of them paused, and moved lower towards the ground.

"Cover me," Beth whispered, getting an obedient nod from Haze.

The two stalked up the staircase, each sound they made on the stairs causing Beth to flinch, the idea of the Abominations up above hearing them scaring every part of her. The gunshots echoed some more, then ceased, and Beth could not help but sigh woefully. There was no doubt the Abominations had won. They closed in on the door above them, and with great reluctance, Beth slid the door open.

It was when she turned the corridor that she leapt back, pointing the gun at the screaming figure standing before her, its hands raised in surrender.

"Adam?"

"That was not required!" Adam panted, alarmed and slightly annoyed.

Haze turned the corner, and laughed at the sight of him.

"Oh thank God," Haze breathed, and placed her hands on her hips. "I thought the screams from you, Beth."

"Not even I can scream that high," Beth retorted.

"Glad to see you too," Adam sulked, picking up the gun he had dropped during his scare.

"Where the hell have you been?" Haze asked.

Adam shook his head, and wiped his brow. "Man, there's some screwed-up shit going on here. First, ATC shoots up the place, then some fugly gremlin-thing chases me." He pointed at the dead Abomination close by. "I met up with the Captain. Boy, is he pissed off. Must have called me every name under the sun!" His breathing became more relaxed, and he stopped shivering. "Also, have you guys seen some naked chick running around the joint?"

Beth could have kissed him at that moment. "You too?"

Adam nodded. "Unfortunately so. At first I thought 'wahey', but the bitch has been scaring the crap out of me the whole time. She keeps pouncing from behind walls, and throwing me around. That's why you scared me. I thought that twisted bitch came back for more."

Beth rolled her eyes, and tapped the elevator button, which seemed to alarm their reunited companion.

"Woah, wait!" he started to panic. "We're going in the elevator?"

"Yeah, why?" Beth asked.

"I can't," Adam began to pace, clutching his head in his hands nervously.

"Why not?"

"I'm claustrophobic," he replied weakly.

"But you were-"

"That was different," he interrupted hastily. "When I get thrown into situations with evil naked girls and creatures from under the bed, I feel closed in. I... I can't go in there."

The elevator door pinged, and slid open with ease. Fortunately, it was empty.

"Looks like I have no choice," Beth muttered, and with a swift movement of her arm punched Adam in the face, knocking him out cold.

"Beth!" Haze cried out.

"We're not leaving him," she replied, dragging the unconcious Adam into the lift. "He's coming with us, concious or not."

Haze shook her head disagreeingly, and followed. "We could have at least voted on it."

"No time," Beth answered dismissively, and grabbed the radio. "Telford, which floor?"

"Nice right arm you got there," Telford said, admiring her knock-out punch on Adam. "A little more twist to it, you could have snapped his-"

"What floor?" Beth demanded.

"Okay, sheesh! I located Dr York again. Level Five. Trent's seen him, and is hunting him down. Your boyfriend's good!"

Haze hit the button labelled '5' quickly, and the doors slid shut, like an automated coffin closing on its new inhabitant. The thought made Beth shudder, and she let Adam drop to the floor.

"How do you propose we wake him up?"

Beth shrugged. "Whatever will hurt him the most."

"You're sadistic, you know that?" Haze said, her tone disagreeing and slightly disrespective.

"Watch the tone, rookie," Beth smiled. "Wouldn't want to have to make you carry Adam the rest of the way only wearing your underwear."

"I wouldn't mind that," Adam mumbled, regaining conciousness.

"I bet you wouldn't," Haze grunted, and knocked him out with a quick kick. She looked at Beth, and shrugged at the sceptical look she was receiving. "What?"

"I'm sadistic?!" Beth asked rhetorically, and was glad to hear the young recruit laugh it off.

"Okay, so Adam kind of deserves to have his ass kicked," Haze dusted her shoulders, evvortlessly scraping the dried blood that was caked upon them.

"Amen to that."

"You think Glenfield and the others will be okay?"

Beth nodded. "Sure."

"Beth?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you think Braintree was hot?"

Beth grinned wryly. "Smoking."

Haze chuckled lightly. "Same here."

They stood silent for the rest of the descent downwards, and each passing moment Beth spent it praying for Trent to be alright.


End file.
